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The Windridge Farm Glandes Revisited: Clues to Conquest?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2022

John Reid ,
Regine Müller  and
Sabine Klein
John Reid
Affiliation:
Trimontium Trust mail@john-reid.co.uk
Regine Müller
Affiliation:
Pohlheim mueller@spau-gmbh.de
Sabine Klein
Affiliation:
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum sabine.klein@bergbaumuseum.de
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Abstract

Roman lead sling bullets (glandes) have been found at Windridge Farm near St Albans in Hertfordshire since the 1970s. A previous study suggested these missiles could have originated from a plough-disturbed hoard of Roman lead objects. More recent discoveries of glandes from other sites throughout Europe have enhanced our understanding of depositional characteristics, morphology and lead sources for Roman sling bullets and this paper offers an alternative explanation for their loss. Their atypical form (for Britain), and the prospect of a continental origin of the lead ore for their manufacture, suggest an early date of deposition. We also argue that the number of bullets and the pattern of their dispersal are indicative of an episode of conflict. After review of attested early military engagements that could have taken place in the vicinity, we propose that the projectiles may relate to one of two events: Claudius's invasion under the auspices of Aulus Plautius in a.d. 43 or Caesar's second incursion of 54 b.c.

Keywords

Windridge Farmsling bulletsglandesVerulamiumPrae Woodlead isotope analysisCassivellaunusCaesarClaudiusAulus PlautiusPortable Antiquities Scheme
Type
Shorter Contributions
Information
Britannia , Volume 53 , November 2022 , pp. 323 - 346
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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