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. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8780-9691 (2013) Provenance of chalk tesserae from a Roman town-house in Vine Street, Leicester. Britannia, 44. pp. 219-246. ISSN 1753-5352 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
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/36762
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
Uncontrolled Keywords	Roman mosaics; Leicester; chalk tesserae; geological provenance; foraminifera
Publisher	Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
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