Anglo-Saxon settlement patterns (Archaeology) Research Papers (original) (raw)

Two almost complete articulated human burials were excavated from Chalk Pit Field North. The first (S8001) was found in 2009 in the south-west corner of Trench 10. The second (S8002) was found a year later approximately 25m ENE of the first, near to the eastern baulk of Trench 12. Although they were buried only a short distance apart, radiocarbon dates showed that the second died about 2000 years after the first. Individual reports on these two skeletons constitute the first two main sections of this account. A few disarticulated human bones were also recovered from various trenches on the site in 2007 and 2009. These are discussed in the third section of this account. In 2010, a few more were found about a metre to the west of the first articulated skeleton (S8001). These have been shown conclusively to be from that skeleton and are covered in that section.

Meend is a common place-name or toponym in and around the Forest of Dean. It is a name that is familiar to most people in the locality, and the majority of these could probably describe the principal characteristics of a meend. These could usually include an open character, uncultivated and accessible for informal recreational use. The word is often used in association with “forest waste”. These areas lay outside the forest plantation inclosures and were historically exploited by local communities for grazing and as a source of bracken, gorse and brushwood. These practices have declined over the last half century. Most meends that still exist have one or more of these attributes. However, many more have been lost over the years, and exist only as distant memories, have had their names corrupted or absorbed, or appear only as forgotten names on modern maps. This paper seeks to shed some light on the origins of what is possibly the most important group of place and field names in and
around the Forest of Dean and points to areas of research that would yield dividends in uncovering the social and environmental origins of the forest.

- by Ben Lennon
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- Cultural History, Anglo-Saxon Studies, Landscape Archaeology, Agrarian Studies

Discusses the archaeological, topographical, historical and landscape evidence for five burhs (defended urban settlements) of the late ninth century in Somerset, England. Four of these are included by name in the Burghal Hidage document... more

The strategic context of new burhs created by the West Saxon King Edward the Elder at Buckingham, Newport Pagnell, Towcester and probably Aylesbury in the period 914 to 917, is examined to determine the ways in which the foundation of these burhs as new fortified settlements was associated with the formation of new burghal territories to maintain their strategic functionality. These were arguably divided into units of around 300 hides, here termed 'proto-hundreds', in the late ninth and early tenth-century programmes of burghal formation. These in turn were divided into vills or estates, in most cases as 5-and 10-hide units. These developments are compared with processes which can be inferred from similar evidence from neighbouring shires of Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire, where similar proto-hundreds of between 200 and 400 hides formed primary landscape divisions within their burghal territories. All these are argued as comprising elements of a major reorganization of the administrative landscape as part of the essential infrastructure of the formation of the burhs. These new cadastral redevelopments demonstrate the organizational precocity of the West Saxon state at this period. These proto-hundreds were subsequently divided into 100-hide units as a development which was arguably concurrent with the creation of the shires, formed by fusion of the earlier burghal territories, in probably the third quarter of the tenth century. The course of development of burhs and burghal territories, and of hundreds, wapentakes and shires, as new elements in the administrative landscape of late Saxon England, raises fundamental issues about the ways in which both the Mercian and West Saxon states set about organising themselves to put in place the administrative infrastructure which was needed to meet their strategic and social agendas, in different historical contexts. While the shires of central Wessex were established well before the ninth century, those of western and central Mercia were later developments. It is argued in this paper that a crucial factor in these developments in Mercia was

This article puts forward a new context and chronology for the development of the two parts of the
late Saxon burh at Oxford, using archaeological, topographical, and historical evidence. It argues that
the original burh was created in c.878–9 and that the eastern extension – effectively a second burh –
was added in the early tenth century. Both dates are earlier than those usually proposed. The results
of recent excavations on the site of the Norman castle have made it possible not only to establish the
original extent of the primary burh, but also to identify a phase of the re-defence in probably the early
eleventh century as a response to renewed Viking raiding.

Reasons are given for questioning the identification of the defended site of Castle Toll in Kent with the late ninth-century Burghal Hidage burh of Eorpeburnan, in eastern Sussex, as has been widely assumed. A new historical narrative is therefore required. A consideration of the relevant topographical, landscape, archaeological, and documentary evidence supports the case for identifying the burh of Eorpeburnan with Rye, East Sussex. Recent palaeogeographic and geomorphological evidence relating to the development of the Romney Marsh area gives a new perspective to this hypothesis, and a new context for the development of Rye in the historic landscape. Some aspects of the historical relationship of Rye with Hastings and with Old Winchelsea are also explored. keywords

‘Ley’ or ‘leigh’ names are among the most widespread and intensively studied of English place-names. They are a common feature within Anglo-Saxon charter bounds of the 8th to 11th centuries. The corpus of charters constitutes a unique subset of leah names that represent the earliest recorded instances of the element. Analysis of the charter evidence is used to disclose common characteristics relating to their early use and formation as well as the social and physical landscape in which they were created. Historical interpretations of the meaning of leah are reviewed and the etymology examined. It is conjectured that the term refers to a form of wood pasture. The use of this term satisfies and incorporates both traditional interpretations of the word as meaning ‘woodland’ and later ‘a clearing within woodland’. The presence of these features in early landscapes, however, is not necessarily an indicator of primary woodland but may have arisen quite quickly where cultivation or grazing had lapsed. A study of first elements combined with leah from early Wiltshire charters indicates that personal names are rarely associated with leah names. This feature is interpreted as indicative of a common resource rather than an exclusively held privilege or right of ownership. The distribution of Wiltshire leah names is also considered with concentrations in some of the medieval forests. It is suggested that a correlation exists between the distribution of soil type and leah features with leahs being particularly common on heavy clay soils and rare on the chalk. This study of early leah features in Wiltshire represents a set of provisional observations and is submitted as a stimulus for further debate of early medieval landscapes.

This paper examines the character and significance of a cellared structure discovered during recent excava tions on the site of a later Anglo-Saxon settlement at Bishopstone, East Sussex. The structure in question formed a focal element within an estate centre complex administered by the Bishops of Selsey from c. AD 800, otherwise surviving in the celebrated pre-Conquest fabric of St Andrew's parish church. The excavated footprint of this cellared structure is examined in detail and conjectural reconstructions are advanced on the basis of comparative evidence garnered from historical and archaeological sources. The collective weight of evidence points towards a tower, pos sibly free-standing, with integrated storage/cellarage accommodated within a substantial, 2 mdeep subterranean chamber. This could represent a timber counterpart to excavated and extant masonry towers with thegnly/episcopal associations. The afterlife of this structure is also considered in detail on the grounds that it provides one of the most compelling cases yet identified of an act of ritual closure on a Late Anglo-Saxon settlement. Alongside being dismantled and infil led in a single, short-lived episode, the abandonment of the tower was marked by the careful and deliberate placement of a closure deposit in the form of a smith's hoard containing iron tools, agri cultural equipment and lock furniture. One of the few such caches to be excavated under controlled scientific conditions, it is argued that the contents were deliberately selected to make a symbolic statement, perhaps evoking the functions of a well-run estate centre.

Considers the topographical and archaeological evidence for the layout, planning and development of the cathedral town of Worcester in the late Saxon period, and its evolution from an early episcopal foundation to a burh of King Alfred of... more

This is the approximate spoken text, around which I extemporised, of a paper given to the North West Universities Medieval History Seminar Group (the M6 Seminar), at the University of Manchester, on Wednesday 3 June 2013. All references to the discussed sites and academic works are provided in the subsequent PhD chapter into which this article evolved. My thinking developed considerably in this area during the course of my PhD, and archaeological work also continues apace in this area, not least that associated with the excavation of Lyminge in Kent. This paper is reflective of my preliminary thoughts on the relationship between ‘elite’ settlement and old English kingship, albeit that it was more of a vehicle for asking questions than answering them. I am uploading it here in the event that it might also provide ‘something to think with’ for others.

The remains of a timber v-shaped fishweir and associated structures have been discovered near Ashlett Creek on the tidal mudflats of Southampton Water in Hampshire, southern Britain. Radiocarbon dating of oak roundwood stakes taken from the main weir structure date it to the middle Saxon period. Clusters of as-yet undated roundwood posts within the catchment area of the weir are interpreted as the frames for fish traps that are assumed to pre- or post-date the operational period of the weir itself. The weir is contemporary with wooden v-shaped fishweirs found elsewhere in southern and central Britain, and also Ireland, but its circular catchment ‘ pound’ remains unique, in these islands, to the Solent region: it has a close parallel with another Saxon-era weir on the nearby Isle of Wight. The weir also shows striking structural similarities with examples in use today in Basse Normandy, on the southern shore of the English Channel. The paper discusses the function and operation of the weir, and places it in its social and historical context. Finally, it considers the implications of the weir’ s dating for our understanding of saltmarsh morphodynamics in this south-western part of Southampton Water, and considers in turn the implications of these dynamics for the material survival of the site.

- by John P Cooper and +3
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- Anglo-Saxon Studies, Wetlands, Marine and saltmarshes ecology, Anglo-Saxon settlement patterns (Archaeology)

A model for the development of Hastings immediately prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066 is put forward, which explores the new thesis that a burh or citadel was created on the castle site at Hastings by King AEthelred in c.990 as one element in a possibly systematic defence of southern England against the new Viking invaders. This was associated with the establishment of a mint, and led directly to the development of the town of Hastings from this time, together with a probable port and associated shipbuilding industry. This defended site, provided with defences, a tower-nave church and a monumental gateway, survived to be used by Duke William for two weeks in the autumn of 1066 as his military command centre, in preparation for the battle which made possible his subsequent conquest of England.

The present study appears to show, that a majority of the genetic material possibly can be traced to three main European groups, where West-Germany hypothesized seems to be one of the major contributors to the earliest migrations into the UK. This study demonstrates that a minority of the genetic material - plausible through the God Toutatis - can be traced to the territory of Agri Decumates.

In this paper, we introduce the Anglo-Saxon settlement and cemetery at Oakington, Cambridgeshire. Oakington presents Saxon scholars with a rare opportunity. While several hundred Anglo-Saxon cemeteries are known in England, many fewer settlements have been excavated, and sites where both are known are rare indeed. Although the ancient core of Anglo-Saxon Oakington lies beneath the modern village, making full excavation impossible, there is nonetheless much that we can learn from the combination of settlement and cemetery evidence. Even without this rare combination, the Oakington cemetery is notable in several ways. It is large by Anglo-Saxon standards. It is virtually complete and undisturbed—and the first such excavated in a generation. It is unusual for the large numbers of infants recovered, as well as its two horses and a cow burial—unique in early Anglo-Saxon England. There are also a large number of prone burials, double graves, and a triple grave.
This article is necessarily a preliminary piece, and will doubtless be much revised in coming years. As we write, the final season of excavation on the cemetery site has just completed. Post-excavation analysis of the pottery, faunal, and floral remains has yet to begin. We have, however, been able to draw on hitherto unpublished material from the 2006 excavations at the site.

Considerable debate persists concerning the origins of those involved in the adventus Saxonum: the arrival of Germanic peoples in Britain during the fifth century AD. This question was investigated using oxygen and strontium isotope ratios obtained from archaeological dental samples from individuals in the 'Migration Period' cemetery, Ringlemere, Kent (n = 7) and three continental European sites (n = 17). Results demonstrated that strontium alone is unable to distinguish between individuals from south-east England and north-west Europe. Although 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values from Ringlemere fell within local biosphere parameters and suggest a spatially and temporally related group, δ 18 O values were inconsistent with origins in eastern England or on the North German plain. Results from the European sites negate past climate change as an explanation. It is possible that culturally mediated behaviour has obscured geographical relationships. Further work to characterize water sources and human δ 18 O values in the putative European homelands is required.

- by Rhea Brettell and +1
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- Archaeology, Anglo-Saxon settlement patterns (Archaeology), Anglo Saxon Burial Studies (Archaeology), European Archaeology

This paper offers a critical reconsideration of the social, spatial and temporal dynamics of sixth- to eighth-century great hall complexes in England. The major interpretative issues and constraints imposed by the data are considered, and the sites are then subject to comparative analysis across long-term and short-term temporal scales. The former highlights persistence of antecedent activity and centrality, the latter the ways in which the built environment was perceived in the past, structured social action, and was a medium for the construction and consolidation of elite identity and authority. Within the broad similarity that defines the site-type there is evidence for considerable diversity and complexity of site history and afterlife.

This project aims to incorporate urban settlement data within a framework of landscape archaeology approaches to map the effects of Christianisation on town development in Anglo-Saxon England from the 7th-11th centuries A.D. With the introduction of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England came churches, this coincided with increasing productivity and trade, which necessitated the growth of towns and larger settlements. The great dynamism of this period both socially and economically has meant that previously studies have focussed on single aspects of the changing Anglo-Saxon world,
however this study aims to use multi-proxy evidence to demonstrate the need for more comparative and collaborative approaches.
From the 7th century onwards land ownership and estate management changed in England, shifting not long after the arrival of missionaries. There were also changes in
elite sedentism, dynastic power shifts, and increasing settlement and economic centralisation. This project investigates the links between Christianisation and
centralisation in Anglo-Saxon England. Links between placement of churches, town development, and changes in funerary behaviour are illuminated. One unifying factor in these settlements is waterways. The essential nature of these riverine and coastal landscapes highlights the multi-factorial nature of the Christianisation process from c. 600-1000 AD and beyond.
The process of Christianisation is not a solely religious question, it affected most aspects of early medieval society, and lasted far longer than what has been historically accepted (c. 8th century A.D.). These questions of changing land ownership and settlement development are multi-faceted and intertwined.

- by Sam Leggett
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- Anglo-Saxon Studies, Urbanism (Archaeology), Settlement Patterns, Urbanism

Following historical developments in three areas of Western Europe: Álava, East Anglia and the "kura" of Tudmīr, this paper proposes that the end of the organization of Roman territory was not a single process. The transformation of settlements developed in different ways, often related to the degree of control of the central authority in each territory. When they were able to establish a clear policy of territorial organization, their interests were more directly reflected. However, in areas where the crisis of Roman political power was particularly felt, disorganized patterns of settlement were typical. Subsequently, the forms of settlements and the development of political areas depended to a large extent on the relationships between central powers and local communities.

- by Igor Santos Salazar
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- History, Medieval History, Anglo-Saxon Studies, Medieval urban history

The term “transition” is a commonplace in archaeological approaches to change over the medium to longer term. The use of the concept can, however, be problematic, and if it is to be useful it is necessary to apply it critically, considering the context, the theoretical attitudes and approaches that the term embodies, and some of the preconceptions or implications that it can carry. Transition, redolent of processual social archaeology, implies episodes of accelerated change between periods of relative stasis. When, as with approaches to the 4th–5th centuries AD, it is combined with the overlapping constructs of archaeological periodisation and cultural terminology (Roman and Anglo-Saxon) it can mask complexity, diversity and longer-term dynamics, and privilege explanations based on anachronistic views of cultural identity. This paper considers these issues and their implications, and those of alternative perspectives, in three areas of current debate: the curation or re-use of old material culture items in the 5th and 6th centuries; 2) how early medieval communities perceived the inherited landscape; and 3) the construction and reproduction of lordship and hegemony in the early post-Roman centuries. It argues that while critically-robust concepts of transition can be useful, both analysis and narrative need to be more attuned to the human agency and human timescales of change.

Presentation about Medieval London

Concerns over climate change and its potential impact on infectious disease prevalence have contributed to a resurging interest in malaria in the past. A wealth of historical evidence indicates that malaria, specifically Plasmodium vivax, was endemic in the wetlands of England from the 16th century onwards. While it is thought that malaria was introduced to Britain during the Roman occupation (AD first to fifth centuries), the lack of written mortality records prior to the post-medieval period makes it difficult to evaluate either the presence or impact of the disease. The analysis of human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts is the only potential means of examining P. vivax in the past. Malaria does not result in unequivocal pathological lesions in the human skeleton; however, it results in hemolytic anemia, which can contribute to the skeletal condition cribra orbitalia. Using geographical information systems (GIS), we conducted a spatial analysis of the prevalence of cribra orbitalia from 46 sites (5,802 individuals) in relation to geographical variables, historically recorded distribution patterns of indigenous malaria and the habitat of its mosquito vector Anopheles atroparvus. Overall, those individuals living in low-lying and Fenland regions exhibited higher levels of cribra orbitalia than those in nonmarshy locales. No corresponding relationship existed with enamel hypoplasia. We conclude that P. vivax malaria, in conjunction with other comorbidities, is likely to be responsible for the pattern observed. Studies of climate and infectious disease in the past are important for modeling future health in relation to climate change predictions.Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

- by Gaynor Western and +1
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- Human Geography, Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Biomedicine

An excavation of a small area to the west of St Mary’s Church, Black Bourton, prior to the extension of the cemetery, was carried out by John Moore Heritage Services in June 2006, expanding upon previous work conducted in 2002. The excavation revealed an early to mid-Saxon domestic settlement,possibly with associated religious activity, suggested by two circular post-built structures that might have been shrines. The mid-Saxon period of settlement included sunken-floored buildings and postbuilt structures, with evidence of metalworking. It is notable for a small collection of Ipswich-ware pottery. Domestic activity on the site may have lasted until the eleventh century.

- by Kelly Kilpatrick
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- Medieval History, Anglo-Saxon Studies, Medieval Archaeology, Viking Studies

Re-examination of the affinities and dating of the post-Roman phase I buildings at Yeavering, Northumberland, suggests that they might be attributed equally well to a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon as to a post-Roman British context. This would... more

- by Bob Clarke
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- History, Archaeology, Death, Death Studies

This dissertation uses many different forms of archaeological evidence to examine the origin and early development of the modern village of Sedgeford in north west Norfolk. The results of many years’ intrusive and non-intrusive archaeological research allow the foundation of the modern settlement to be confidently dated to the Middle Saxon Period, set against a background of earlier, but discontinuous, settlement activity. The archaeological work
conducted to date has successfully identified multiple phases in the village’s early development, fortunately preserved in situ by later changes in the morphology of the settlement. These later changes have also been the subject of extensive archaeological study, the results of which elucidate the Late Saxon and Early Post-Conquest periods of the settlement’s history.

- by Bob Clarke
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- History, Archaeology, Death, Death Studies

This paper details the methodology (funerary and GIS techniques) and preliminary results of a project investigating the links between Christianisation and centralisation in Anglo-Saxon England. With river valleys as case study units, links between placement of churches, prehistoric landscape re-use, and changes in funerary behaviour are being illuminated. The essential nature of these riverine landscapes highlights the multi-factorial nature of the Christianisation process. Archaeologically, the process of Christianisation is dynamic and complex, and this paper discusses the religious, social, political and economic forces at play which caused major changes in burial practices and settlement centralisation from c. 600-900 AD.

Dernford Farm lay on river terrace gravels in the Cam/Granta valley. Excavation by Archaeological Solutions Ltd, in advance of gravel extraction, revealed evidence for episodic or seasonal occupation and burial in the Neolithic period. After a gap of several centuries, there were three phases of Middle Iron Age to early Roman activity representing the continuous development of the same system of enclosures focussed on a central trackway. Domestic occupation was also evident in the form of partial ring gullies. During the Conquest period there was probably a landing site for boats operating on the former river channel evident at the site. Economic activity during these phases represents a mixed, surplus-generating economy and it is possible that river traffic played an important role in the trade of the agricultural surplus. Limited finds of later Roman artefacts indicate a continued Romano-British presence in the vicinity. The final phase of occupation was a small rural Anglo-Saxon settlement comprising seven sunken-featured buildings and associated pits. Environmental and soil micromorphological analysis from this phase has provided important information about the internal arrangement of SFBs and the processes associated with development of their fills.