Word of the Day: Spoliate
Added 2022-01-09 19:48:54 +0000 UTCEvery now and then, our activities bring up an interesting piece of archaeological terminology – perfect for casually dropping into conversation when you wish to impress others with your vast knowledge.
During our recent excavation of the Oxfordshire Roman villa, Derek and Lawrence treated us to the term 'spoliated' when they stumbled upon a derelict farm building, hidden by foliage, just a stone's throw from the main site.
Although this building is evidently a much more recent structure than the villa, it's possible that it was built using masonry that was 'spoliated' (or repurposed) from the original Roman complex occupying the site nearby.
Throughout history, good quality stone has been a prized resource and, often, old buildings contain materials that have clearly been recycled from much earlier structures in the area. As this short video clip highlights, it's not the first time we've discussed the idea on Time Team.
Check out another example from Series 13, Episode 7: https://youtu.be/K20BfA6lf5k
Do you know of any other examples? Let us know in the comments below...
UPDATE
We have lots more to share with you very soon, as we begin to look at potential sites for 2022, gear up for the release of the upcoming episodes, and provide more insights from various members of the team. Watch this space...
Comments
I bet you are proud to have them. We set aside bricks for reuse.
Linda Marinkovich
2022-04-18 23:36:51 +0000 UTCresourceful. They needed the materials and they were in good condition.
Linda Marinkovich
2022-04-18 23:36:06 +0000 UTCGarden walls around many houses in uphill Lincoln are certainly reused Roman.
Linda Bourne
2022-01-29 13:24:29 +0000 UTCI remember watching the older Time Team Video of this, and even replayed it TWICE!. I can understand people reusing the stones and rocks of one building, but so sad that they would just take apart a once beautiful building just to complete a home or another Church. Like vultures picking away at a dead body.sigh.
Donna Oglesby
2022-01-22 06:08:59 +0000 UTCStone reused, i know of many sites here in shetland where this is the case, the site at upper scalloway is one example, but another one we discovered was 3 kirks (churches) built in the norse period where stone was reused from previous buildings to build these kirks, and once these kirks got rebuilt again in the late 1700s they used the same stone again to build newer kirks plus other buildings.
Michael leask
2022-01-14 13:21:39 +0000 UTCDoes it apply to organ donors? Could we see a gravestone with an inscription like: "Bob Biker, born 1978, fell off, spoliated 2022?"
John Atkinson
2022-01-13 16:16:16 +0000 UTCI was once a spoiled little brat, but I’m pretty sure I was never a spoliated little brat!
Jon Colcord
2022-01-10 18:04:28 +0000 UTCI just love Lawrence and Derek. They explain everything so well and their love for archeology and their friendship is so easy to see. It’s just lovely.
Erica Griffith
2022-01-10 18:02:13 +0000 UTCI know ‘exfoliated’- I practice it often, in the privacy of my bathroom!
Irene Daly
2022-01-10 13:59:36 +0000 UTCThere’s nothing wrong with it, at all, and thanks for championing an appropriate term, but, to be fair, this is a villa dig, so repurposing the root spoliātus is appropriate. 😊
John Gross
2022-01-10 03:54:10 +0000 UTCI once had a huge spoliated buttress but went to the clinic and had it lanced🎯🥴
Eggs Ackley
2022-01-10 02:22:51 +0000 UTCWhat’s wrong with the word repurposed? There are those of us that worked long and hard to get that word into the vocabulary and of course the concepts behind it.
Carol Franklin
2022-01-10 01:34:57 +0000 UTCSo this particular structure is both spoliated and foliated!
Eric Tottman-Trayner
2022-01-09 23:58:35 +0000 UTCReuse, repurpose, recycle.
Davis Johnson
2022-01-09 23:38:37 +0000 UTCSo, is that derelict building maybe a clue to a new site?
Robert Wise
2022-01-09 23:32:52 +0000 UTCAll along Hadrian's Wall there are stone structures built from spoliated stone from the wall, from pasture fences to Lanercost Priory, near Carlisle. I found this page with more. https://archaeology-travel.com/england/spolia-from-hadrians-wall/#:~:text=Hadrian%E2%80%99s%20Wall%20provided%20a%20source%20of%20stone%20that,of%20the%20Wall%20is%20not%20that%20far%20away.
Jeff Lanam
2022-01-09 23:04:23 +0000 UTCFun and fascinating installment. And good to see Lawrence and Derek again! —A happy Patreon supporter.
Doug Mackey
2022-01-09 22:51:33 +0000 UTCLatin derivation: Spoliatio: plundering; Spolio: to strip, rob, or plunder; Hence the modern term 'spoils' of war. Who says it's a dead language?
MR ALLAN A C ANDREWS
2022-01-09 21:15:40 +0000 UTCOH that is all so exciting :)
Hanna_M
2022-01-09 19:55:14 +0000 UTC
