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Database of the Roman Purbeck limestone industry

© Copyright John Palmer. This is work in progress, more about it here. Please use this link to send me comments and suggestions.

Contents

Subdivisions of the database

Conventions

Possible attributes for each item

Abbreviations

Subdivisions of the database

• Index of Sites
• Reviews
• Mortaria
• Vessels other than mortaria
• Portable items other than vessels
• Inscriptions
• Roofing
• Tesselated paving
• Architectural features: columns, mouldings, veneers, other paving
• Structural stone items: not ornamental (see Architectural) nor unspecialised building material (see Unclassified).
• Statuary
• Uninscribed monuments
• Stoneworking tools
• Unclassified items, including loose building material
• Quarries and outcrops
• Romano-British occupation sites in Purbeck stone source areas
• Geological detail
• DUBIA, items that are most likely not of Purbeck origin at all, or not Roman, but should be checked
• RELATED items that strictly do not belong to the inventory at all but are included as reminders
• False reports and negative searches
• Bibliography
• Guide to relevant displays at Dorset County Museum
• Relevant ancient texts
• Acknowledgments

Conventions

Each item usually describes an artefact or a group of artefacts from a single site. Some that give summary information about many artefacts are placed in the section Reviews.

In distribution-maps, filled triangles show findspots of Purbeck Marble objects, open triangles other Purbeck limestone, question-marks doubtful objects. Coastal outlines are from NOAA.

The public version of this database is a copy of a fuller version which I keep for my own use. For publication, I have to omit (a) some pictures, for lack of permission from the copyright holder, (b) some personal data about individuals who have been very helpful to me, (c) some sensitive information about particular archaeological sites. If a link in the public database doesn't work (gives "error 404: page not available"), this is likely to be because it refers to something of this sort.

Illustrations, other than those in the text, will be displayed by most browsers in a separate window. So will ancient texts, some plans or maps, and the guide to my system of measuring stone mortars.

Possible attributes for each item

• name Unique name for this item
• number Serial no. in this catalogue; so far only used in Roofing section
• cat Category; "mortarium", "veneer", etc, also "review"; used inconsistently
• site Provenance; placename(s), where found; date of finding where known
• grid National Grid coordinates of site (outside GB, follow local practice)
• source source of first (often incomplete) information
• publ Publication details, reference to Bibliography
• desc General description
• meas Measurements; so far only used for Mortars; the system of measurement can be read here.
• loc Present location of artefact; museum, catalogue-number
• subst Substance, e.g: limestone, Purbeck limestone (PL), Purbeck marble (PM)
• date of artefact
• interp Interpretation
• comment Comment
• cont Person to contact

Abbreviations

• AP aerial photograph
• BAR British Archaeological Reports
• BBCS Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies
• BGS British Geological Survey
• BIAB British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography
• BSL Broken Shell Limestone (see the Geological detail section)
• BVC Brading Villa Collection (Isle of Wight)
• CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, 1863--, of which vol.vii is Inscriptiones Britanniae Latinae, ed. Aemilius Hübner, Berlin 1873
• CSIR Corpus Signorum Imperii Romani, Corpus of sculpture of the Roman world
• cx Context number; often written in a circle on finds labels
• DCM Dorset County Museum, High West Street, Dorchester
• DORCM same as DCM
• EE Ephemeris Epigraphica, 1872-1913
• HAT Highest astronomical tide (attained every 19 years)
• HER Historic Environment Record, new name for Sites and Monuments Record
• IWCAC Isle of Wight County Archaeological Collection
• JP The author
• JRS Journal of Roman Studies
• KS Kimmeridge Shale
• LAARC London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre
• MHWS Mean high water of spring tides
• MoL Museum of London; MOL minimum occupation level (near tidal water)
• MoLAS Museum of London Archaeology Service
• NMR National Monuments Record (English Heritage, Swindon)
• NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (United States)
• NOI No other information
• ns not (yet) seen (by JP); NS new series
• NT National Trust
• OD Ordnance (Survey) datum
• PDNHAFC former title for PDNHAS, see below
• PDNHAS Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society. Volumes 1-49 (1877-1928) were entitled Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club.
• PHFCAS Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society. Alternative title Hampshire Studies.
• PL Purbeck Limestone
• PM Purbeck Marble
• PS Portland Stone
• RAMM Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
• RB Roman Britain, Romano-British
• RIB Roman Inscriptions in Britain
• SF, sf Special (or Small) find number; often written in a triangle on finds labels
• Soc Antiqs Res Rep Research Reports of the Society of Antiquaries of London
• SMR Sites and Monuments Record
• TAQ Terminus ante quem, the latest possible date for an event or artefact
• TBGAS Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucester Archaeological Society
• TPQ Terminus post quem, the earliest possible date for an event or artefact
• WAM Wiltshire Archaeology and Natural History Magazine. From vol. 70 (1978) to vol. 75 (1981), entitled Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine.

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