Ipplepen - Society for Interdisciplinary Studies

Metal detectorists came across a quantity of Roman coins in a field between Exeter and Newton Abbot in Devon and this led to an archaoelogical investigation that uncovered a Roman period settlement (at Ipplepen). See for example www.exeter.ac.uk/news/featurednews/title_225948_en.html … and www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-36596636 … It is claimed the discovery is set to change the history of the Roman period in Britain – which sounds a bit over the top as we know Exeter was a major Roman town and the Romans controlled all of Britain south of the Antonine and Hadrian's walls (at different points of time). The discoery of a hundred Roman coins by local metal detectorists has led to the discovery of a major British settlement that was in existence during the Roman period (and possibly both before and after the Roman presence). They lived in round houses – and clearly were Iron Age in outlook. Gildas provides us with the same perspective from the 5th century AD – the people of SW Britain quickly reverting to the pre-Roman culture. However, the settlement and the Roman pottery and other finds are consistent with a Roman presence in Devon and Cornwall.