Iscalis
Iscalis was a Roman settlement described by Ptolemy.[1] The exact location has not been clearly identified but the possible sites are in Somerset.
Possible sites
One of the possible sites is at Gatcombe: a site here was occupied from the middle of the 1st century until at least the fifth century, demonstrated by the coins of Theodosius I, Magnus Maximus and Arcadius which have been found. The full extent of the site is unclear, beyond a specific villa but there is some evidence that the site is much more extensive, possibly forming a village or even a town.[2]
The second possible site identified is Charterhouse Roman Town.[3] The settlement grew up around the north-western edge of prehistoric lead and silver mines, which were exploited by the Romans.[4] Extraction is thought to have begun as early as AD 49.[5] An amphitheatre stood west of the settlement. It is the only one in England to exist at a lead mine and is additional evidence of the importance of Mendip lead to the Romans.[6]
A third suggestion is that Iscalis was at the mouth of the River Axe near Bawdrip. River Axe is Brean Down not Bawdrip.[7]
A fifth possible site is Cheddar Palace.[8]
References
- ↑ Cunliffe, Barry (1967). "Excavations at Gatcombe, Somerset, in 1965 and 1966" (PDF). Proceedings of the University of Bristol Spelæological Society 11 (2): 126–60. http://www.ubss.org.uk/resources/proceedings/vol11/UBSS_Proc_11_2_126-160.pdf. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 197955 – Gatcombe Settlement
- ↑ Rivet, A. L. F.; Smith, Colin (1979). The Place-Names of Roman Britain. London: BT Batsford.
- ↑ Elkington, H. D. H. (1976). "The Mendip Lead Industry". The Roman West Country: Classical Culture and Celtic Society.
- ↑ Havinden, Michael (1981). The Somerset Landscape. The making of the English landscape. London: Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 58–9. ISBN 0-340-20116-9.
- ↑ Dunning, Robert (1983). A History of Somerset. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 978-0-85033-461-6.
- ↑ "ISCALIS Suspected Romano-British Settlement". Roman Britain. https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/iscalis/.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1017290: Roman settlement site, Anglo-Saxon and Norman royal palace, and St Columbanus' Chapel (Grade @ listing)
