Action-packed and purpose-driven : the functions, patterns, and relationships of extramural areas associated with Roman forts in Northern Britain

The research presented below investigates the nature of the extramural areas associated with 1st- and 2nd- century Roman forts within the northernmost frontier zone of Roman Britain. This frontier zone stretches from immediately before Hadrian's Wall along the Stanegate, north through the Antonine Wall, and into Perthshire where it encompasses the Gask System. Although the number of investigations into extramural areas continues to grow, a relatively small amount of fieldwork and comparative analyses have been conducted on the extramural areas compared to the forts. However, through the use of data gathered by citizen scientists and the reassessing of legacy assemblages, I was able to supplement modern excavations reports to obtain a sufficient number of assemblages for analyses. Six case studies representing three positions in the Roman fort and road network were identified: Castledykes and Newstead represent forts at important road junctures; Inveresk and Cramond represent harbour forts; and Birrens and Elginhaugh represent road-side forts. By assigning functional categories to artefacts and analysing the compositions of both fort and extramural assemblages through descriptive statistics and correspondence analysis, I was able to identify the primary activities occurring within these areas and conduct comparative analyses. These analyses showed that the fort and extramural assemblages were statistically different, revealed the character of activity in the extramural areas, and the nature of its relationship to the fort. Sites residing in similar positions within the Roman fort and road network were then compared to investigate the extent to which location determined primary activities. This resulted in the development of site-type profiles, or sets of characteristics found at each position, that could aid in future identification and analyses of similar sites.