Aspects of Industry in Roman Yorkshire and the North

Book excerpt: At the frontiers of the Roman Empire, military settlements had a profound influence on local crafting traditions. Legions were not just fighting units - they contained a large number of craftsmen, and the fortress would have been a centre of manufacturing activity. A timber legionary fortress, for example, required vast numbers of nails, many of which would have been made by legionary smiths on site, and an army of thousands would require many more pots, shoes and tents than could be produced by local domestic potters and leather workers. But can all developments in local craft and industry be seen as a result of the appearance of the Roman army? The ten papers in this volume focus on craft production in Roman Yorkshire, and the evidence for the role of the army in local manufacturing activities. Several papers examine broad questions surrounding the organisation and scale of production in urban and rural areas. Others consider the local evidence for individual materials and production processes, including those associated with pottery, glass, copper alloys, non-ferrous metals, leather, jet, and building stone.