Roman Vectis
Archaeology and Identity in the Isle of Wight
Roman Vectis
by David Tomalin
This is the first archaeological study of Roman Wight for more than 100 years. We learn of accomplished navigators, well connected with British and Continental shores. Wight’s relevance to Roman Britain and other islands is fully explored. The Island’s surprising number of Roman villas is also discussed. This full-colour hardback has over 440 pages and is richly illustrated. Long awaited, here is the ideal companion for Islanders and visitors alike. It is also the perfect gift for every ancient history enthusiast!
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“An enticing archaeology for everyone, on an island that has long hidden its past.”
Julian Richards, archaeologist, author and presenter, Meet the Ancestors, BBC 2
“Once seen as an appendage, Wight now reveals itself in Roman Vectis to be a key component in Britannia’s links with the Roman world.”
Professor Barry Cunliffe, archaeologist, author, broadcaster and excavator of Brading Roman villa
‘‘The fascinating characters and exploits of the Isle of Wight’s pioneer excavators are brought vividly to life in this book. Impeccably researched and wonderfully illustrated, it is a must for anyone wishing to explore the island’s rich history.”
Dr Tracy Borman, broadcaster and Curator of the Royal Palaces
“The book is a revelation, a major pioneering study, for the first time revealing the unique nature of Vectis, southern Britain’s only major offshore island, its discovery by antiquaries over five centuries, amongst them the great Charles Roach Smith, its unique identity in southern Britannia, and, in Brading Roman villa at least, its amazing sophistication.”
Rev. Professor Martin Henig FSA, archaeologist, writer and authority on Roman and Early Christian art
The author, David Tomalin
Resident in the Island for 50 years and Wight’s first County Archaeologist, Professor Tomalin presents a refreshing archaeological and social view of what is an island homeland. A distinct Vectensian identity, he suggests, is something that has ever persisted over time, while the machinations of the mainland may fade in a Solent mist. Today, Vectensian identity can be both thought-provoking and hilarious, and this the author conveys with mischievous good humour.
Roman Vectis
Mosaics and star-gazers in the Vectensian world: a new vision
The author presents a new and surprising re-interpretation of Brading’s magnificent mosaic floors. He carries us to a new level of astronomical awareness when we find that the mosaic panels tell not only of mortals, gods and seasons, but specific annual events in the night sky. For our Vectensians, these were the vital signals for timing their plantings and reaping as well as their activities at sea. The degree of astronomical awareness at this villa appears astonishing!
Aratus, the Greek astronomer, in a mosaic at Brading villa: his message is that time is passing and we must look for answers in the night sky
A glimpse of the dark side
This book identifies three types of burial practice adopted by Romano-British Islanders. Cremation burial in a utilised cooking pot was the simplest option. For others, a conventional burial could include items of feasting or warfare. Finally, a very small number of long-cist burials composed of large stone slabs could mark some of the maritime families of Wight.
A bronze head recovered from the plough-soil in the Bowcombe valley
Discoveries and absurdities
William Camden, John Skinner, Charles Roach Smith, Dr Ernest Wilkins, George Hillier and OGS Crawford are just some of the early antiquaries and archaeologists that once explored and documented ancient Wight. The vignette biographies in this book can be both poignant and entertaining. After empathising with two suicides, we pass into lighter times with two prominent scandals. We are also treated to some fieldwork adventures that include an overladen bicycle and a Luftwaffe machine-gun attack. In this book, Island archaeology is never dull!
Part of the private collection of antiquities assembled by Charles Roach Smith
Using new evidence to reconstruct Wight villas
With crisp 3D graphic imagery, Scott Church reconstructs the rooms, mosaics, outbuildings and garden of Brading villa in their fourth-century grandeur. At the villas of Combley, Newport and Rock further reconstructions are thoughtfully discussed and explained.
The arched division of room 12 of Brading Roman villa separates terrestrial and celestial themes in the mosaic floor
New technology reveals hidden landscapes
Slicing through undergrowth, woods and even buildings, recent Lidar imagery now reveals the previously unseen landscape of prehistoric and Roman Wight. When manipulated by David Marshall, the detail of these hidden features is stunning.
Late Iron Age and Romano-British fields still survive in the parish of Calbourne
Being Vectensian
Islanders in roundhouses once set boundaries with neighbours to define ownership of farmland and define hunting and fishing territories. Once marked by hedge, ditch or stream, many of these strip divisions endured in military centons, ‘tythings’ and parishes. Today, be it carnivals, dart teams, football clubs, flags, number-plates or even choosing a spouse, this book explores all manner of Vectensian peculiarities with both authority and good humour.
Icons of Wight’s Romano-British past march on, as Brading’s Gallus and Medusa head their procession through the streets of Ryde in 2019
Wight’s portable antiquities
Wight’s metal detectorists have made an astonishing contribution to knowledge of ancient Vectis. This book presents a rich display of discoveries that we are now able to see thanks to diligent local reporting and the detailed recording system of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
A gold solidus of the Roman general and usurper Magnentius, found using a metal detector in the parish of Arreton
...and there’s more!
This book also reviews: the origins of the name ‘Vectis’; how Wight’s distinctive geology affected ancient life; the lost landscapes, habitats, birds and beasts of Wight; relations with Iron Age chieftains ‘before the Romans came’; the physical evidence for Roman-era Vectensians who ploughed, raised sheep and cattle, quarried, fished and traded; how ancient Wight compares to other island communities; and so much more!
Field-names and place-names on Wight tell of ancient fauna
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