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Provenance of chalk tesserae from a Roman town-house in Vine Street, Leicester

Tasker, A., Wilkinson, I. P., Williams, M., Cooper, N. J. and Fulford, M. G. (2013) Provenance of chalk tesserae from a Roman town-house in Vine Street, Leicester. Britannia, 44. pp. 219-246. ISSN 1753-5352

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To link to this item DOI: 10.1017/S0068113X13000214

Abstract/Summary

Fourth-century a.d. chalk tesserae from Roman Leicester (Ratae Corieltavorum) yield rich microfossil assemblages that identify a biostratigraphical age of Cretaceous Late Cenomanian to Early Turonian. The nearest chalk outcrops to Leicester lie in Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and north Norfolk, indicating that the material for the tesserae must have been sourced remotely and transported to Ratae. Superimposing the Roman road network onto a map of the relevant Chalk Group distribution provides a guide to possible sources. A process of evaluation identifies Baldock in Hertfordshire and Bridlington in Yorkshire as the most likely sources for the Leicester tesserae.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Social Archaeology
Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
ID Code:36762
Uncontrolled Keywords:Roman mosaics; Leicester; chalk tesserae; geological provenance; foraminifera
Publisher:Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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