Editing Shepton Mallet (section)

===Roman occupation===
Shepton Mallet is about halfway between the [[Roman Britain|Roman]] towns of [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and [[Ilchester]] on the [[Fosse Way]]. Although there are no visible remains apart from the line of the [[Roman road]], there is archaeological evidence for early military and later civilian settlement lasting into the 5th century. Domed [[pottery]] [[kiln]]s, with pottery still present, were identified on the site of the [[Anglo-Bavarian Brewery]] in the mid-19th century, suggesting military activity in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Several hoards of [[Roman coin]]s ranging from the 1st to 4th centuries have been found and more than 300 [[fibula (brooch)|fibula brooches]], [[Sherds|potsherd]]s and other artefacts. A few isolated burials near the Fosse Way were found in the 19th century.<ref name="gathercole"/>

A lead coffin in a rock-cut grave was discovered at a site by the Fosse Way in 1988. This discovery and impending commercial development of the site by the landowner, Showerings, led [[Archaeology|archaeologists]] to excavate more extensively in the 1990s. The grave belonged to a cemetery containing 17 burials aligned roughly east and west, indicating probable Christian beliefs. Two smaller cemeteries had graves aligned north–south, possibly signifying [[pagan]] religious practices. One burial was in a substantial stone coffin positioned beneath a [[mausoleum]], whose foundations remained.<ref name="gathercole"/><ref name="leach">{{Cite book |last=Leach |first=Peter |title=Shepton Mallet: Romano-Britons and Early Christians in Somerset |year=1991 |publisher=[[University of Birmingham]] Field Archaeology Unit and Showerings Ltd |location=Birmingham |isbn=0-7044-1129-6|pages=24–25}}</ref>

One find in the Fosse Way burials was a [[Labarum|''Chi-Rho'']] [[amulet]], thought then to be from the 5th century and considered among the earliest clear evidence of [[Religion in England|Christianity in England]].<ref name="leach"/> A copy was presented to the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], [[George Carey]], by the churches of the [[Diocese of Bath and Wells]]. The amulet is in the [[Museum of Somerset]], but analysis by [[Liverpool University]] in 2008 using [[inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy]] showed it was a fake: its silver content dates from the 19th century or later.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/19/archaeology.anglicanism |title='Roman' amulet adopted by archbishop is a fake |last=Morris |first=Steven |date=19 September 2008 |work=The Guardian |access-date=19 September 2008 |location=London |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902223645/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/19/archaeology.anglicanism |archive-date= 2 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/2982490/Ancient-Christian-amulet-declared-a-fake.html |title='Ancient' Christian amulet declared a fake |last=Savill |first=Richard |date=18 September 2008 |work=Daily Telegraph |access-date=18 September 2008 |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919034411/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/2982490/Ancient-Christian-amulet-declared-a-fake.html |archive-date=19 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7622395.stm |title=New tests challenge age of amulet |date=18 September 2008 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=18 September 2008}}</ref>

Excavations in the 1990s confirmed the presence of a linear settlement along the Fosse Way for perhaps a kilometre, with cobbled streets, wooden and stone workshops and houses (some with two storeys) containing [[hearth]]s and ovens, workshop areas and a stone-lined well. The many artefacts found included local and imported pottery such as [[Samian ware]], items of jewellery such as brooches, rings and bracelets, toilet items including tweezers, ear scoops and nail cleaners, bronze and iron tools, and a lead [[ingot]] which probably originated from the Roman lead mines in the [[Mendip Hills]]. Coins minted across the [[Roman Empire]] were also found. The finds indicate occupation from the late 1st or early 2nd centuries to the late 4th or early 5th centuries. As no public buildings were found, the settlement was probably not a town.<ref name="gathercole"/><ref name="leach"/>