Bücher der Reihe British Archaeological Reports British Series

Black Horse Farm is situated on the Cambridgeshire fen-edge. During the Iron Age and early Romano-British period it occupied a low promontory reaching out into the surrounding wetland. This volume describes the archaeological excavation of the site and the Iron Age settlement and Romano-British activity that was recorded there. The wetland of the fen would have been a prominent part of everyday life at Black Horse Farm and the book examines the way in which the site's inhabitants utilised and exploited it. Fluctuations between dry and damp conditions were also a prominent aspect of life at this marginal location and the later sections examine how the population responded to these conditions. The book examines themes including the organisation of space within the roundhouse, the role of ditches and banks as flood defences versus their social and defensive function, and offers alternative interpretations for some commonly observed features at contemporary sites.With contributions by Beta Analytic Inc., Jane Cowgill, Nina Crummy, Julia E. Cussans, Val Fryer, Andrew Peachey, Ruth Pelling, Carina Phillips, Rob Scaife and Maisie TaylorIllustrations by Kathren Henry, Charlotte Davies and Caroline George

This book gives a new account of society and social change in the upper and middle Thames Valley from the Late Bronze Age to Middle Iron Age, 1150-100 BC. A model is developed from social anthropological case studies setting out expectations on how societies are structured based on certain material manifestations. Patterns are found within the wide range of types of evidence that are integrated and synthesised. This includes settlements, house forms, metalwork, pottery, human and animal remains, monuments, landscape boundaries and special deposits.The main interpretation offered is that Late Bronze Age societies were fluid and unstructured by either social status differences or lineage identities, whereas Early Iron Age communities were more concerned with ancestral genealogy and inter-generational inheritance. By the Middle Iron Age, communal aspects of ritual practice and material practice were largely replaced by local and household concerns in which smaller groups displayed increasing autonomy from each other.

First published 1989, this book is a new edition of the proceedings of a seminar held in South Shields (N England) in July 1985 on the architecture of the gates and defences of auxiliary forts in the early principate.

In this significant study, Jill Bourne presents the corpus of all 70 surviving Kingston place-names, from Devon to Northumberland, and investigates each one within its historical and landscape context, in an attempt to answer the question, What is a Kingston? She addresses all previous published work on this recurrent place-name, both scholarship with an etymological focus and contextual scholarship which examines the names within their wider context. The core of the work is the hypothesis that names of the type cyninges t¿n or cyning t¿n derive not from independent coinages meaning 'manor/farm/enclosure of a king' in some general sense, or in direct relation to the phrase cyninges t¿n, as it is sometimes assumed in the literature, as an equivalent to villa regia. The study explores connections between Kingstons and the cyninges-t¿ns and villæ regales of the documentary sources; considers the concept and development of early kingship and its possible origins, the laws of the earliest kings, the petty kingdoms, and emergence of the larger kingdoms for which the term Heptarchy was coined (but not used at the time); and pays particular attention to Ancient Wessex, where more than half of the corpus of Kingston names are found, and to the early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the Hwicce and Magonsæte, where a further quarter lie.

The book systematically examines and compares a large sample of burials from the same region, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire, in the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. A very detailed examination of skeletal material provides specific evidence about this region in the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods, but also contributes to wider questions of osteological interpretation and political change; specifically the Roman/Anglo-Saxon transition. It explores large issues such as what can be learned from human bones to understand lifestyle and migration. This book will hopefully provide a clear picture of aspects of life in the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods, which are typically unobservable from other scholarly approaches.

This book was first published in 1975 and was then reprinted in 2000 with a new preface.

'The primary purpose of an engraved gem or ring-bezel, cut in intaglio, was to make an impression upon some fictile material…, which would be understood by the owner of the device, and by his associates, as a personal signature.' So began Martin Henig's original BAR Number 8 from 1978, in the British Series of British Archaeological Reports, a catalogue and study of over 1000 Roman engraved gemstones from the British Isles. Nearly 30 years later comes the third edition of this study, the new Preface to which concludes: 'Over the years I have thought more about gems in relation to other arts and have integrated glyptics into my book on The Art of Roman Britain (1995). Several papers I have written recently have attempted to use gems, like sculpture, painting and bronzes to elucidate general artistic problems. This should be obvious but how many art-historians seem to have the inclination to take gems seriously? At least interest in provincial glyptics seems greater today and that gives me grounds for hope. Important studies are being conducted across the Empire ranging from Belgium … and Portugal …, to Turkey … and Israel. It is for each new generation to reassess the evidence, in the case of our subject with the aid of new techniques, of computing on the one hand and scientific analysis of materials and cutting techniques on the other. In addition the fresh eye of youth is always invaluable. Someone else can often see what should have been obvious to one all the time. (Wolfson College, Oxford. Feast of St Frideswide, 2005)'

Excavation of the overflow burial ground of St Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton 2001-2002Birmingham Archaeology Monograph Series 3Between October 2001 and January 2002, Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit (now Birmingham Archaeology) carried out archaeological explorations on the overflow burial ground of St Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, in the English Midlands. The excavations revealed evidence of activity prior to the use of the area as a burial ground. Two pits and a gully were found, highly truncated, but may be associated with the grounds of a Deanery, which stood in this area during the medieval period. The excavations recorded 152 human burials, dating to the mid-19th century. The majority of the burials were found with scant remains of wooden coffins and had been subject to the intercutting of graves and truncation by later building activity. Seven brick vaults were found, six of which had been emptied, probably during an earlier graveyard clearance. The intact vault and earth-cut burials were found in the south-eastern part of the development site, which appeared not to have been cleared. The preservation of human bone was generally good, despite the high levels of truncation. The sample provided a good opportunity for research into the health and lifestyles of the local population. Anthropological analysis was carried out on 150 skeletons, revealing some striking results. An assessment of the pathology of the skeletons revealed a wide variety of diseases, conditions and trauma, including cases of tuberculosis, osteoarthritis, infectious diseases, syphilis, malignant tumours, and dental diseases. The archaeological evidence, scientific analysis of the skeletal remains, and the documentary research provide an important basis from which to reconstruct the lives and deaths of the people living in central Wolverhampton during the 19th century. The authors hope this project will help to demonstrate the usefulness of such assemblages and the wealth of information that can be gleaned from archaeological, scientific, and documentary analysis.With contributions by Iraia Arabaolaza, Lynne Bevan, Anthea Boylston, Gary Coates, Leonie Driver, Rowena Gale, Annette Hancocks, Emma Hancox, Erica Macey-Bracken, Charlotte Neilson, Paola Ponce, Stephanie Ratkái and Sarah Watt. Illustrations by Nigel Dodds and Kevin Colls.

The village of Exning in the most westerly part of Suffolk is a small settlement appended to the north-west of the larger town of Newmarket. Despite its modern inferiority to Newmarket, it is understood to have been an important location in the Anglo-Saxon period. Statements in the Liber Eliensis or 'Book of Ely' suggest that St Æthelthryth, or Etheldreda, the daughter of King Anna of East Anglia, who would become Abbess of Ely, was born here. This volume describes the archaeological excavation of the site and the 7th century Anglo-Saxon cemetery that was recorded here. Grave goods present with several of the burials in the cemetery were indicative of high status. Of further note is the similarity of the richest grave at this site with a grave recorded at a cemetery on the Isle of Ely which is considered to have had links with the religious community there.

The present Anglican parish church of St. Mary the Virgin in the south Berkshire village of Stratfield Mortimer was built between September 1866 and July 1869 to replace a smaller, medieval building on the same site. Sponsored and paid for by Richard Benyon II of Englefield House, it was designed by Richard Armstrong Snr of London, and built by William Rhind, a young Scot, acting as Clerk of Works with the resources of the Englefield Estate at his disposal. A series of 150 detailed weekly returns by Rhind to Benyon shows that more than 340 named bricklayers, stonewallers, labourers, stonemasons and carpenters were employed at one time or another at St. Mary's. For much of the three-year period of building 40-45 men, lads and boys were present at the site. Their trades, daily rates and weekly wages are known in detail, together with the general progress of construction. It is apparent from Census Returns that the great majority of these workers were on the tramp, either living in benders or in some cases lodging in the village. They substantially increased the male working population of the village, and had a significant economic and social impact. The direct cost of St Mary's was almost £10,000, but the true cost was substantially more, as Rhind did not pay for aggregate, bricks, scaffolding, cartage and such machinery as a steam traction-engine. As the receipted bills accompanying Rhind's returns demonstrate, the Great Western Railway Company, with a station and goodsyard at Mortimer, was crucial to the construction of St. Mary's. The church was built at the height of the Victorian church-building boom during a period of confidence and prosperity for many. In general design, it was modelled on the previous medieval building, but otherwise largely complied with ecclesiological taste. The sturdy tower, with an almost fortified look, combines with the spire make the church a conspicuous landmark, which Pevsner was happy to call 'stately'. The present author has contributed two other works for BAR: BAR 432 2007: Late Churches and Chapels in Berkshire and BAR 371 2004: Carrstone in Norfolk Buildings.

This report outlines the results of archaeological investigations at Old Hall Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK (NGR SO 916984), carried out between 2000 and 2007. The results of the archaeological work have been combined with documentary, cartographic and genealogical studies, together with finds and scientific analyses, to present a broad interpretation of the history of settlement in the area and the motives behind it. The site was the location of a moated Elizabethan mansion house, the Great Hall, which lay at the edge of the then settled area of Wolverhampton in an area that had once been part of the town fields. A documentary reference suggests that there was an earlier house on the site, but there is only limited archaeological evidence to support this. The building of the Great Hall was intended to make a clear statement about the status, wealth and prestige of its owners, the Leveson family, who were prominent Wolverhampton merchants, also involved in the early industrialisation of the Black Country. The aspirations of the family are clearly demonstrated by their construction of one of Staffordshire's most significant early brick buildings The later history of the Great Hall mirrors that of the Black Country, fortowards the end of the 18th century it was converted for use as a japanning factory, known as the Old Hall Works, artefacts from which were exhibited in the Great Exhibition of 1851. A large-scale map of 1852 gives a detailed insight into the layout of the japanning factory, which was finally demolished in 1883, an Adult Education College being built on the site in 1899. The archaeological excavations took place ahead of the redevelopment of the college. This report shows something of the process by which the Black Country attained its distinctive personality.

Proceedings of the IFA Wales/Cymru Conference, Aberystwyth 2001The aim of the conference hosted by IFA Wales/Cymru Group was to stimulate debate on a national research strategy for Welsh archaeology. The result was two intensive days of discussion by archaeologists representing all aspects of Welsh archaeology on themes ranging from the need for research frameworks and the organization of Welsh archaeology to initial thoughts regarding what the priorities might be. The 26 papers published here from the conference cover all topical buzzwords in research agenda development - 'sustainability', 'social inclusion', 'joined up thinking', and 'sense of place'. As a result, the volume informs and stimulates constructive debates at all levels - from grass-roots to national.

Medieval castles are, as Professor Liddiard states in his Foreword to this volume, 'evocative monuments and perhaps more than any other building capture the ideals of the Middle Ages.' This idealization and romanticism of castles, however, can often obscure their histories as functioning dwellings, fortresses, and political and social centres. Wallingford Castle in Oxfordshire is a prime example of a structure with a rich history. Its importance lies in its strategic position on the Thames, allowing it to serve as a vital stronghold during conflicts and a royal residence in more peaceful times. This volume is a product of the Wallingford Burh to Borough Research Project (2008-2010), a collaborative project between the Universities of Leicester, Exeter and Oxford. It contains reports of excavations undertaken at the castle and its town, excavated between the 1960s and today. The results of the archaeological investigations are contextualized using contemporary documents and accounts of the castle, such as surveys and rent agreements. Combining the text and material evidence, the contributions to this volume provide a detailed narrative of the history of the site from its construction to its destruction, as well as helpful contextual sections on English history and medieval castles. Also included are sections on excavations at the castle at the nearby town of Oxford and the priory at Wallingford. The text is accompanied by colour photographs, drawings, plans, maps, and transcripts of the Medieval and Tudor documents. This volume accompanies 'The Origins of the Borough of Wallingford: Archaeological and historical perspectives', edited by K. S. B. Keats-Rohan and D. R. Roffe in 2009, (BAR 494), and 'Transforming Townscapes: From burh to borough: the archaeology of Wallingford, AD 800-1400' edited by N. Christie and O. H. Creighton in 2013 published by the Society for Medieval Archaeology.

Sometime in the late 16th to early 17th century an armed merchantman foundered in the Thames Estuary. Forgotten for over four centuries, it was rediscovered in 2003 as the Port of London Authority began clearing navigational hazards from the Princes Channel. Wessex Archaeology were alerted and recovered five sections of the ship's hull and four guns, as well as numerous artefacts.The first report in this two-volume set presented studies of the hull compiled by the University of Southern Denmark. The second volume describes the research undertaken at University College London on the wider maritime context, the conservation process and the analysis of the contents recovered from the wreck site. Prominent in the cargo were 42 iron bars thought to be of a type - so-called 'voyage iron' - sometimes traded to West Africa as the first stage of the transatlantic slave trade. With a tonnage of some 150 tons, the Gresham Ship emerges from this research as an all too rare example of typical armed merchantman of theage, capable of ocean passages, operating as a privateer or even serving with the Queen's Navy against the Armada.With contributions by Mark Beattie-Edwards, Lynn Biggs, Thomas Birch, Michael F. Charlton, Kelly Domoney, Clare Hunt, Phil Magrath, Marcos Martinón-Torres and Zofia Stos-Gale

The Vindolanda Tablets are rightly famous for the insights they provide into the life of Roman auxiliaries on the province of Britain's northern frontier around the turn of the first century AD. This study focuses on the various kinds of evidence provided for economic activity in the early Roman Empire, the aim is to investigate how best to comprehend the economic system attested at Vindolanda and to consider the wider implications for studies of the ancient economy in general. This is accomplished by a three-step approach: first, the nature of the Vindolandan evidence is assessed, and the state of research on both studies of the ancient economy and the economy of early Roman Britain is accounted for, so as to highlight the value of the Vindolanda Tablets and lay the ground for the interpretations which follow. Second, the economic activities attested by the tablets are analysed in terms of market exchange, redistribution and reciprocity, and each category is developed to suit the unique character of the evidence. Moreover, select phenomena attested at Vindolanda are compared or contrasted with evidence from similar Roman frontier establishments in other places and periods of antiquity. Third, a model is outlined which takes into account the different economic behaviours revealed by the tablets and attempts to fit them together into one coherent, economic system, whilst also relating the activities to questions of scale in the ancient economy; moreover, the conclusions drawn in the study are discussed and compared with those of the most important authors on the subject, and the value and potential of the findings made are put into a wider perspective.

This study investigates the nature of indigenous settlement in northern England. The main focus is on artefactual and settlement patterning evidence. Chapter 1 covers the geological background, modern literature on the Brigantes and the history of archaeological work in the area. Chapter 2 considers the relevant literature and epigraphy: these are Roman in origin, and mostly post-date the period in question. It also considers Roman place-name evidence, discussing possible evidence for lack of linguistic change and the significance of the name Carlisle in relation to native society on the Solway Plain. This chapter reveals the weaknesses of the literature as evidence for the presence of tribes and regional identities in northern Britain. Chapter 3 discusses the artefactual and material evidence covering pottery, metalwork, taphonomy, querns, glass and coinage. Regional patterns based on use, decorative styles and the use of imported Roman goods and styles, are identified which may indicate the presence of indigenous societies. Chapter 4 also identifies evidence for regionalisms by observing patterning in settlement sites themselves. In both cases factors affecting the archaeological record are highlighted. These two diverse approaches produce broadly similar results. In chapter 5 conclusions are drawn regarding indigenous society and possible regional identities. There are no grounds for asserting the existence of one large regional group in northern England. The combined evidence reveals a number of different regions of which six are thought to display sufficient variation to indicate the presence of regional identities. Where possible names drawn from Chapter 2 are notionally attributed to these areas. The book concludes that the Tees Valley is the region most likely to have been inhabited by a regional group who may have recognised the name 'Brigantes'; there is no evidence that their control extended further.

The study of salt during British prehistory has experienced an awakening during the past 40 years. In this work the author explores the evidence for the production of salt in the coastal regions of Essex, along the south coast and at the Droitwich salt springs in the prehistoric period. The evidence for the distribution of salt from Essex, the south coast and the salt springs of Droitwich and Cheshire is reviewed based upon discussion of briquetage finds. Models for, and implications of, salt distribution networks are considered and a speculative discussion of non-archaeologically visible distribution is also presented. Four case studies comparing Iron Age sites in salt producing and salt using regions are included to establish the relative presence of salt evidence in the archaeological record and its value as a social status discriminator. Finally, information is presented on how salt may have been used in the Iron Age and the social and ritual uses of salt are also discussed. A gazetteer and bibliography of 519 Bronze and Iron Age briquetage find sites is included as an on-line download.

This book presents an investigation of two of the National Museum of Scotland's older lithic collections, the assemblages from Airhouse and Overhowden in the Scottish Borders. The Airhouse assemblage numbers 558 lithic artefacts and the Overhowden assemblage 109 lithic artefacts. They were both collected in the first part of the 20th Century from locations situated a few hundred metres from the Overhowden Henge (with which they may in some way be associated), and they both embrace a broad spectrum of Late Neolithic tools, with relatively sophisticated, or 'fancy', pieces being notably more prominent than in other collections from this period. The main background to the project is the fact that, in Scotland, several interesting Late Neolithic assemblages have been recovered or written up lately and south of the Anglo-Scottish border many Late Neolithic sites and landscapes have been investigated. As a whole, this new corpus of comparative material offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the seemingly unusual material from Airhouse/Overhowden by placing it in a wider Late Neolithic context.

Since the first explorations of causewayed enclosures, archaeologists have attempted to define these early Neolithic monuments in relation to territorial patterns, pottery typologies, and ultimately though the concept of structured deposition. While these concepts have been important in advancing our knowledge of causewayed enclosures, the interpretations of the material from the enclosures ditch segments and other areas of these sites have failed to take into account the importance of how objects and materials came to be at the sites, were produced and used there, preceding deposition. This book argues that activities at enclosures should not be categorically separated from the everyday activities of those who visited the enclosures; that by looking in detail at the spatial and temporal distribution of objects in association with chronology that the practical activities people engaged in at enclosures have been overshadowed by interpretations stressing the ritual nature of structured deposits. These activities had a direct relationship with enclosures and local landscapes. This argues that perhaps more deposits within causewayed enclosures were the result of everyday activities which occurred while people gathered at these sites and not necessarily the result of a 'ritual' act. A re-interpretation of the detail from nine causewayed enclosures within three 'regions' of the British Isles (East Anglia, Sussex and Wessex) are examined. This theoretical approach to activity goes beyond the deposition of objects and also includes enclosure construction, object modification such as flint knapping, animal butchery, and the use of pottery and wood. On a micro scale this indicates that each community who constructed an enclosure deposited objects in a unique and 'personal' manner which was acceptable within their defined social system. On a macro scale, this indicates that although all British causewayed enclosures seem to 'function' in the same way, the individual sites were constructed, modified and used in distinctive ways. Some enclosures seem to have existed quite independently from their neighbours while other enclosures within close proximity to each other had a specialised role to play. These specialised roles indicate that some enclosures may have been constructed and used by groups who primarily came to them in order to carry out a specific set of activities which were then defined through deposition.

Since its establishment in 1985 the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies has regularly hosted international, interdisciplinary conferences, especially an annual Easter Conference. The 2006 MANCASS Easter conference titled 'Royal Authority: Kingship and Power in Anglo-Saxon England' focused on historical contributions analysing sources of knowledge about royal power; and others which pinpointed loss of power or insecure pretensions to the crown. There were also offerings which teased material relevant to the conference theme out of artefactual and literary sources.With contributions by Charles Insley, Nicholas J Higham, Nicholas Brooks, Ian Howard, Gareth Williams, Mark Atherton, Christopher Grocock and Marilina Cesario.

This book examines the archaeological investigations undertaken between 1979 and 2009 on the wreck of the Stirling Castle a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line, lost on the Goodwin Sands, Kent during the Great Storm of 1703. Included is a history of the warship, a detailed account of archaeological investigations undertaken and the environmental factors impacting the seabed remains. A review of the ship’s construction draws on records of structure remaining on the seabed and recovered material. The artefact collection is considered by material and type. Specialist analysis has enabled greater understanding of ship fittings, weapons, navigation equipment, medical artefacts, food preparation and consumption, clothing and apparel, and life onboard. The volume demonstrates the value of studying dispersed archives from shipwreck excavations and their potential to add considerably to maritime history and archaeology. In this case the examined archaeological records and artefacts from the Stirling Castle offer a compelling insight into the maritime world of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from a range of perspectives. 

A detailed study of the masonry defences of one of England's most important Roman sites. Erected in c. 270 AD, the masonry walls of the Roman town of Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum; Hampshire, S. England) are part of the third system in a series of defensive works. They stand today to a height of almost 5m and are composed of up to seven lifts or stages, each consisting of a flint core and facing (now almost completely robbed away), capped by a string-course of large blocks and slabs that stretches across the full width (c. 3m) of the walls, formed of a wide variety of rock-types foreign to the district.

The five-hundred year occupation of Insula IX at Silchester has yielded a sequence of 87 whetstones, mostly tabular but some bar- or rod-shaped. These are described, illustrated and characterized with the help of thin-section microscopic petrography. The whetstones originated in many geological sources, not all of which can at present be identified. Whetstones from the earliest levels at Silchester are comparatively local in origin (sarsen, ironstone) or were made from discarded, imported milling stones(Quartz Conglomerate, Upper Old Red Sandstone). During the first and second centuries AD substantial number of bar-shaped whetstones manufactured in the Wroxeter manner from sandstones in the Weald Clay Formation (earliest Cretaceous) were imported into Silchester. Almost all the whetstones of the later Roman period are secondary in character produced from discarded roofing tiles of Brownstones (Lower Old Red Sandstone) and Pennant sandstone (later Upper Carboniferous) imported from the West Country. Small numbers of whetstones can be traced to the Portland Group (Upper Jurassic) and to the Lower and Upper Greens and Groups (Lower Cretaceous). The provision of sharpening stones to Silchester as a whole is estimated to run into many thousands.

The papers published here are developed from presentations made at a Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies Conference entitled 'The Anglo-Saxons in their World' held in 2010. An eclectic collection of studies drawing on Latin, Old English and Old Norse texts, artefacts and archaeology, papers are grouped into five themed sections: 'Chosen people in their place'; 'Life in Anglo-Saxon England'; 'Beyond the shore'; 'The Mediterranean and beyond'; and 'The North, The Universe', though other connections may be found. Two papers focus largely on early archaeology (Battaglia, Trzaska-Nartowski and Riddler) and King's study is also of an archaeological find. A majority of papers relate to the intellectual climate of the early Christian period in England (Larpi, Higham, Grocock, King, Cesario, Barker and to some extent Sebo). Several take evidence from later Anglo-Saxon manuscripts (Scragg, Hill, Frederick, Sebo). Fafinski attempts a chronological sweep beginning in the Roman period, and Banham from the seventh century to the eleventh.

This monograph presents the results of archaeological recording along two South West Water pipelines, between Tintagel and Boscastle and between Harlyn Bay and Padstow. The sequence began with Mesolithic lithics and continued through pits with Early Neolithic ceramics, with Grooved Ware and with Beaker pottery. A Middle Bronze Age roundhouse of unusual character had been submerged by colluvium and produced a mould for a copper alloy racloir, an artefact more commonly found in Continental Europe. There were Bronze Age field walls, and a modified 'natural' stone, a focus for prehistoric activity. At Forrabury, uniquely in Cornwall, Early Iron Age cists were revealed, and, close to the well-known later Iron Age cemetery at Harlyn Bay, an Iron Age to Romano-British settlement was uncovered beneath blown sand. The terrain of each pipeline had its own distinctive character and a concluding discussion explores the archaeology of successive periods against this and against the background of Cornish prehistory.Contributors: Dana Challinor, Tim Gent, James Gossip, Lorraine Higbee, Joanna Higgins, Julie Jones, Anna Lawson-Jones, Ian Longworth, Brendan O'Connor, Clare Randall, Roger Taylor and Tom Walker

The western and southern Roman extramural settlements: A Roman community on the edge of the world. Excavations 1964-1989 and other investigations.Chester Archaeological Excavation & Survey Report 15This is the first detailed, wide-ranging report to be published on excavations in the extramural settlement of the Roman legionary fortress at Chester (north-western England), specifically those around the western side of the fortress. This publication concentrates on ten interventions carried out over twenty-five years in the area to the west and south of the fortress and attempts to summarise in more detail than has been done hitherto discoveries elsewhere around its perimeter. Discussions attempt to characterise the townscape, its development and population, and also to explore the role of the Chester extramural settlement generally. It is hoped that this publication will be useful in providing a context for future fieldwork and analysis. '[This] volume represents an important addition, not only to the literature of Roman Chester, but also to the wider topics of military supply, the nature of extra-mural settlement in the major military sites of the north-western Empire and military/civilian interaction. The authors are to be congratulated on a job exceptionally well done.' The Archaeological Journal (Vol. 169, 2012)Excavations directed by Simon Ward, David Mason, John McPeake, Sybil Rutland and Tim Strickland.Site reports compiled by Simon Ward, David Mason and John McPeake.Volume editors, Peter Carrington with Catrina Appleby and Alison Heke.With other contributions by †Peter Alebon, Justine Bayley, Peter Carrington, H.E.M. Cool, Brenda Dickinson, Gillian Dunn, James Greig, Lesley Harrison, Alison Heke, David Heke, Glenys Lloyd-Morgan, Yannick Minvielle-Debat, Tim Morgan, Gaenor Morris, Quita Mould, Cheryl Quinn, Sharon Roberts, Dan Robinson, Ian Smith, Julie Vint, Margaret Ward and Barbara West

The purpose of this monograph is to examine, primarily from a geological perspective, the distribution and use of indigenous construction materials - carrstone especially but also its competitors together with brick - in the hamlets, villages and towns of north and west Norfolk, part of the fourth largest county in England, without restriction as to period (Roman-modern) or kind of building (cottage, farm, great house, religious, public/community, official).The area embraced roughly coincides with the physiographic sub-regions distinguished as the level, low-lying Fenland with its extensive controlled or artificial drainage, the gently rising Western Escarpment, the North Alluvial Plain along the North Sea coast, the elevated but comparatively level and gently dissected Good Sands, with the Cromer Ridge in the north and east, and the sandy Breckland. A study on such a geographical and temporal scale must, however, be regarded as no more than a reconnaissance, but it brings light to bear on past changes ineconomic and social factors in these parts of the county, will serve as a springboard for detailed, local work in the future, and may interest conservationists and those whose responsibilities include planning, development, and the preservation of the character of the area.

This work examines the effectiveness of the use of GIS and GIS viewsheds as tools in the study of medieval castles in Ireland. To date, archaeological usage of GIS viewsheds has centred on prehistoric funerary sites. Little work has been done using GIS in relation to medieval castles, a subject and time-frame which is well documented. To date, no work has tested GIS and viewshed analysis across a wide comparative sample of castles. This study uses GIS to examine the visibility of and the views from structures about which much is known. A comparable set of twenty sample castles were taken from a particular period in one social/geographical context, the first century of English lordship in Ireland. Research objectives included exploring the priorities of the first three generations of Anglo-Norman castle builders in Ireland, by determining if there are patterns in site choices. Specifically the project aims to establish whether visibility may have played a role in the siting of these castles.

Subtitled An analysis of the later prehistoric monuments of the Yorkshire Wolds and the culture which marked their final phase this volume re-examines the evidence for monument and settlement distribution and material culture in the East Yorkshire Wolds.

This study combines archaeological material from Romano-British forts located in northern Britain with concepts and methods from the New and Processual schools of archaeological theory in order to learn more about the lives of the inhabitants of those forts. The primary goal of the study was the discovery of activity areas within the forts. Secondary goals included the discovery of possible artifact toolkits used in and around the forts and the utilization of information from older excavation reports; it was hoped that computerizing this data would make it more accessible and useful to modern scholars. History and chronology, much of which is based solely upon archaeology, is discussed in Chapter 2 to remind readers of the background information necessary to understand the results of this study. Chapter 3 contains a brief chronological overview of the development of archaeological method and theory concerning northern Roman Britain and corresponding schools of archaeological theory in Britain and the United States. The limitations of the excavation reports used in this study are explained more fully in Chapter 4 and the solutions which were used to circumvent at least partially these limitations are found in Chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 7 shows some aspects of the utility of the database developed for this study by examining the possibility of women living within the forts and the status of those using the various buildings of the forts. Chapter 8 presents the author's conclusions.