Roman Archaeology In The News: The Contribution Made By The Provincial Press To The Dissemination Of Roman Archaeological Information In Nineteenth-Century Britain

This research examines the role of the provincial press in disseminating Roman archaeological information between 1800 and 1899. Many archaeological discoveries in this period were made accidentally, often by labourers, but little consideration has been given to the consequences of this and in particular, what happened to this information. This study looks at the ways in which archaeological knowledge is selected and exchanged, starting at the point of discovery and following its route, possibly through to the local newspaper and going further afield to the regional and metropolitan press or crossing over into the ‘professional’ sphere of journals. Focus is placed on two Yorkshire case studies, York and Ilkley, setting the newspaper reporting within its locality and against the wider context of contemporary Romano-British archaeology. Analysis of the newspaper content demonstrates the editors’ and reporters’ understanding of archaeology and reflects their views of the Roman past. It also highlights the exposure that the reading public had to Roman archaeology through this medium. This research reveals that local newspapers played a key role in spreading Roman archaeological information, not only as chroniclers of new discoveries, but as a communication tool for antiquarian societies and as a platform for individual antiquarians to showcase their knowledge and share it with a wider public. The flow of archaeological information is complex, with each stage being filtered for a variety of motives. Only close examination of the whole process can lead to an understanding of the influencing factors and therefore the bias of the information that is later claimed as ‘fact’ and which guided the development of archaeology itself.