Cambridgeshire archaeological finds show evidence of skilled craft workers in area nearly 2,000 years ago

Researchers from MOLA Headland Infrastructure studying finds from along the National Highways A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme have identified the evidence.

Nearly 300 fragments of bone and antler working waste, dating to the late Roman period, were recovered from a small settlement near Alconbury during excavations that took place between 2016 and 2018. These remarkable finds have now been interpreted as coming from a carpenter’s workshop, where decorated inlay or veneer were produced to adorn wooden boxes and furniture.

At the time, Red deer antler was an important material and both shed antlers (collected after naturally falling off) and examples that were sawn from the skull of hunted animals have been found. The base of the antlers and the narrow tips of the tines were removed and discarded, their shape too irregular to be worked further. The ribs, jawbones and shoulder blades of large domestic animals were also used, especially cattle and horses. As with antlers, discarded bone offcuts are dominated by irregular elements, while the usable material was turned into finished products and removed from the site.

The pieces of bone and antler were sawn into thin (2-3 mm thick) strips of varying width. These were then smoothed, decorated with repeated geometric patterns, and finally cut into different sections of the desired length. Among the materials found at Alconbury are examples of all these different stages of work. These include stunningly detailed finished pieces which might have been casually lost, were surplus to requirements, or were intentionally discarded when they broke during shaping or a flaw was recognised.

The strips of bone were decorated with a variety of patterns including parallel lines, saltires (diagonal crosses), cross hatchings and rows of circles with inscribed dots. These incised designs might have been filled with black or coloured wax, creating a stronger and vibrant contrast with the white of the bone.

Michael Marshall, Senior Finds Specialist at MOLA, commented: “Not only were these inlays and veneers used to decorate wooden objects, they were also made with a similar range of tools and it is likely that they were made by the same craftspeople. The wooden elements don’t survive, so we can only guess at the full range of products made locally, but the inlay/veneer suggest that local artisans were involved in creating elaborate domestic items.”

The Alconbury material can be dated to the late Roman period, most likely between the 4th and early 5th century AD (ca. AD 301-425). The most curious thing about these inlays and veneers is that they were discovered in a relatively simple rural settlement. Usually, evidence for this kind of bone and antler working comes from towns or Roman villas. Yet, there is no other evidence suggesting the presence of a high-status domestic structure at Alconbury.

Whilst the finds are not sufficient to prove the presence of a permanent specialist furniture workshop, they indicate there were skilled craftspeople at Alconbury in the Roman period. These individuals might have made these kinds of objects seasonally, on commission, or alongside other kinds of furnishings. The customers for the more extravagant objects need not have been at Alconbury itself, and archaeologists speculate that these products were sold elsewhere, such as at the nearby Roman town of Godmanchester, or another wealthier rural site in the vicinity.