Level 3 - Life in Roman Sussex - The Countryside

The Countryside

Agriculture

The South Downs at Goodwood showing the remains of Romano-British field systems Agriculture formed the basis of the Romano-British economy, and most of the archaeologically visible structures in rural areas, from the smallest farmsteads to the largest villas, were closely associated with it.
High wheat yields in sothern Britain would have attracted the attention of the Romans, as the army needed huge quantities to sustain it across the Roman empire.

Image on Right: The South Downs at Goodwood showing the remains of Romano-British field systems.

Arable Land

Sussex, along with most of south-eastern Britain, already contained extensive field systems in the late Iron Age, and so the impact of the Roman conquest was not to increase the amount of land used in cultivation, but to intensify production. Continuity of use can be seen at Bullock Down and Bishopstone, where rectangular field systems continued to be used from the Iron Age through to the end of the Roman period. There was also continuity in the methods of cultivation, with a similar type of iron ploughshare being found at Iron Age and Romano-British sites.

Spelt (a type of wheat) and barley were the most common crops in the Iron Age, but the range of other cereals increased throughout the Roman period. The choice of crop will have depended on the available land, which in turn depended on the wealth of the landowner. Thus the most fertile soils were probably used by rich landowners from villas such as Bignor and Angmering for crops like bread wheat, while oats and rye, which are much more tolerant, would have been grown by farms on poorer nutrient-depleted soils. Sometimes improvements seem to have been made to the soil to increase production, as seen at Bullock Down, where a 1st-2nd century marling pit may have been used to spread chalk over the clay fields and thereby improve the texture. In the late Roman period, so-called 'corn-drying ovens' start to appear at both villa and farmstead sites. Whilst their function is not certain, it is usually assumed that they were used in roasting cereal crops, thereby preventing sprouting and killing pests.

Pastoral Land

The majority of rural settlements would have operated a mixed farming economy. Sheep, pigs and cattle were the main species used for consumption, although the trend was for an increase in cattle, throughout the Roman period. Other domesticated animals included goats, chickens, ducks and geese.

Pig bones were usually in the minority, although their proliferation at military, town and villa sites such as Fishbourne seem to reflect a high-status Romanized diet.

Animals were generally slaughtered later in the Romano-British period; presumably as more use was made of animal by-products such as milk, wool and hides.

The ability to keep animals longer depended upon a certain level of wealth, as they would need large supplies of winter-feed and more areas of pastureland.