Coastal trade in Roman Britain: the investigation of Crandon Bridge, Somerset, a Romano-British trans-shipment port beside the Severn Estuary

Abstract

There is growing awareness of the significance of coastal trade around Roman Britain, though very few of the smaller ports and towns that were engaged in such activity have seen archaeological investigation. This paper reports on work at Crandon Bridge, in Somerset — including excavations in advance of the construction of the M5 motorway — that appears to have acted as a trans-shipment port where goods brought by road and river through Somerset were loaded onto larger vessels that could cross the Bristol Channel. Analysis of the buildings and artefacts suggests that this extensive site may also have been a small town.