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Roman roadside station known from the Antonine itinerary but of uncertain true location; suggested to be at Speen, Wickham or Thatcham
A Roman station 'Spinis' (Spinae in the Latin nominative case) appears in the Antonine Itinerary, a series of lists of place names with distances between them <1>. It is assumed that the settlements are linked by Roman roads, and research (since the 18th century) has matched the itineraries with known routes and the place names with known Roman towns. However, uncertainty remains over the location of Spinae partly due to inconsistencies in the arithmetic of the distances listed. Spinae appears twice in this Imperial road book, on Iter XIII from Caerleon to Silchester via Cirencester, and on Iter XIV from Caerleon to Silchester via Mildenhall. In both routes it is 15 Roman miles from Silchester (Calleva).
At the beginning of the 19th century as the Victoria County History noted, 'archaeologists (were) almost unanimous in identifying the Spinae of the (Roman) Itinerarium with the village of Speen' <3>; Camden <4> was apparently the first person to suggest this link, largely due to the place name similarities, and Stukeley maps Spinae on his plan of Newbury <5>. Dr Beke <6> and Mr Hedges <7> argued against this, but Leman made a case in his manuscript of 1813 <8> for the house and grounds of Speen House being the location of the Roman settlement, and this argument was supported by Rickman <9> and Money <10><11><12> amongst others <13><14><15>.
The First Edition Ordnance Survey <12> mapped Spinae on the brow of the hill where Speen House stands (within the 110m contour). Although there are earthworks around this hill (see MWB15520), the chief objection to this being the site of a Roman settlement is the dearth of artefactual evidence. Apart from the reports of a couple of coins <11><17> and a general statement that pottery had been found, there were no suggestions that anything had been found by the house owner or gardeners at Speen House <3>.
The Saxon village of Speen appears similar in name to the 'Spinis' of the Antonine Itinerary but Gelling <20> notes that the English name which is Spene cannot be derived directly from the Latin one, which means 'at the thornbushes'.
The distance of Spinis from Cunetio (Mildenhall) in Iter XIII could suggest a location at Woodspeen, in the general area of SU4469 <22>. Late 20th century debate sited Spinae in the vicinity of Wickham, partly due to the greater density of Roman finds. It could also be argued that Wickham is close to the junction of the Roman road from Mildenhall with that from Cirencester. Harris <23> wanted to find Spinae in the 1920s, and at Thatcham Newtown he certainly located the largest roadside settlement yet found within West Berkshire. However, this is more than 15 Roman miles from Silchester.
In a personal communication to Dr D. Peacock from Professor Michael Fulford at the University of Reading in October 2018, Fulford suggested that the Roman cemetery discovered in Newbury in 1856 may have been associated with the unlocated settlement of Spinis <24>.
The GIS point for Spinae has been placed close to Speen House, although this is only a notional grid reference.
| <01> | Caracalla (M Aurelius Antoninus). c AD 210. The Antonine Itinerary. Iter 13, Iter 14. [Unpublished document / SWB14345] |
| <02> | Margary, Ivan D. 1967. Roman Roads in Britain (1967 edition). [Monograph / SWB11112] |
| <03> | Ditchfield and Page (eds). 1906. Victoria County History (VCH) Berks I 1906. Vol 1. P213-4. [Monograph / SWB10017]
https://archive.org/details/victoriahistoryo01ditcuoft (Accessed on 22/12/2021) |
| <04> | Camden, W. 1586 & later. CAMDEN'S BRITANNIA. 1. P149. [Monograph / SWB11822] |
| <05> | Stukeley, W. 28/06/1723. Plan of Newberry and Spinae. [Map / SWB147333] |
| <06> | Society of Antiquaries. ?. Archaeologia 18? 15. XV. p179. [Article in serial / SWB146955] |
| <07> | Hedges, J K. 1881. The History of Wallingford. [Monograph / SWB7533] |
| <08> | Leman. 1813. (unknown exact title - site of Spinae being at Speen House). [Unpublished document / SWB146957] |
| <09> | Society of Antiquaries. 1840. ARCHAEOLOGIA 1840 28. XXVIII. p413-414 Rickman. [Article in serial / SWB11823] |
| <10> | Money, W. 1887. The History of Newbury. p12. [Monograph / SWB11828]
http://archive.org/stream/cu31924028185811 (Accessed 02/09/2013) |
| <11> | Money, W. 1892. The History of Speen. p2-12, 16. [Monograph / SWB11824] |
| <12> | Money, W. 1905 & 1972. A Popular History of Newbury (also Walter Money's History of Newbury). p7-8. [Monograph / SWB11278] |
| <13> | Gray, E W (ed)?. pre 1839. The History and Antiquities of Newbury and its Environs. P154-7. [Monograph / SWB11182]
https://archive.org/details/historyandantiq00unkngoog (Accessed 16/07/2019) |
| <14> | 1860. JBAA 1860 16. XVI. online. p3, 4, 31, and p70-71 - On the Roman Station of Spinae by Rev J Adams. [Article in serial / SWB10466]
https://archive.org/details/journalofbritish16brit (Accessed 12/04/2016) |
| <15> | Newbury Weekly News. 13/02/1870. NEWBURY WEEKLY NEWS 13/02/1870. [Article in serial / SWB146958] |
| <16> | Landmark. 1872-85. Digital Ordnance Survey Mapping Epoch 1, 1:2500 (25 inch). Digital. 1:2500. Marked 'Spinae'. [Map / SWB14341] |
| <17> | Newbury District Field Club. 1872-75. TRANS NEWBURY DISTRICT FIELD CLUB 1872-75 VOL 2. 2. P258. [Article in serial / SWB10336] |
| <18> | Peake, H. 1931. The Archaeology of Berkshire. P91, p234. [Monograph / SWB10018] |
| <19> | Rivet, A L F & Smith, C. 1979. The Place Names of Roman Britain. p176, 462. [Monograph / SWB146956] |
| <20> | Gelling, M. 1973. The Place Names of Berkshire - Part One. English Place-Name Society Vol XLIX. p266. [Monograph / SWB10003] |
| <21> | Ordnance Survey. 1956. OS MAP OF ROMAN BRITAIN 3RD ED. [Map / SWB10582] |
| <22> | Wessex Archaeology (Lobb, S J & Rose, P G). 1996. Archaeological Survey of the Lower Kennet Valley, Berkshire. Wessex Archaeology Report 9. p86-7. [Monograph / SWB7500] |
| <23> | Newbury District Field Club. 1937. TRANS NEWBURY DISTRICT FIELD CLUB 1937 VOL 7 NO 4. p219-224. [Article in serial / SWB10479] |
| <24> | Fulford, M.. 2018. Letter from M Fulford to D Peacock 19 October 2018. [Personal observation / SWB149543] |