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Theme 6: Transitions

6: Transitions

Academic, period-based boundaries often oversimplify long-term transformations, relegating sites, features or populations to either/or categories – this theme is used to foreground the interstices of traditional ‘blocks’ of time and the research questions pertinent to eras of transition and change.

Below are set out a number of research questions and strategies that are associated with the theme Transitions.

FOR ALL BUT THE MORE RECENT PERIODS, INVESTMENT IN APPROPRIATE SCIENTIFIC DATING PROGRAMMES IS RECOMMENDED TO ESTABLISH A MORE PRECISE CHRONOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

Palaeolithic c.1,000,000Ma – 10,000BC

6.1 What characterises the transition from an upper Palaeolithic to early Mesolithic way of life in the Yorkshire Wolds?

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Categories:
Palaeolithic
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Palaeolithic site prospection should be prioritised in view of our paucity of knowledge of activity during this period, with focus where evidence permits on the transition to a Mesolithic society and economy.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Date accepted:
04/09/2022

Mesolithic c.10000 – 4000BC

6.2 What characterises the transition from a Late Mesolithic way of life to an Early Neolithic way of life in the Yorkshire Wolds?

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Categories:
Mesolithic
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Sites producing both late Mesolithic archaeology and early Neolithic archaeology should pay careful attention to the overlap (if any) in lithic assemblages and feature occupation. Isotope and aDNA analysis should be considered where possible as strategies for investigating population migrations. Systematic sampling of Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic features for palaeoenvironmental data and the identification of contexts suitable for C14 dating should be prioritised in order to build a better chronology and to investigate in more detail the environmental impacts of this period of transition. A review is recommended of museum artefact collections to enhance the currently very limited evidence base for the Mesolithic. Fieldwalking and test-pitting programmes to be considered as means of identifying further artefact concentrations
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Date accepted:
04/09/2022

Neolithic c.4000 – 2200BC

6.3 What characterises the transition from a Late Neolithic way of life to an Early Bronze Age way of life in the Yorkshire Wolds? To what extent was this the result of population change in this area? Are changes seen in farming and settlement forms as well as cultural customs, material culture, funerary and mortuary practice or is there stability in these domains across the transitional period?

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Categories:
Neolithic
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Sites producing both late Neolithic archaeology and early Bronze Age archaeology should pay careful attention to overlaps in lithic assemblages and feature occupation. Careful and systematic sampling of Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age features for environmental data and contexts suitable for C14 dating should be prioritised to build a better chronology and understanding of the environmental impact of this period of transition. Closer dating of Late Neolithic and early Bronze Age monuments in the Wolds landscape can enhance our understanding of changes in monument typology and assist mapping of this transitional period. Studies of heritage at risk monuments from these periods may provide opportunities for building these data as part of a monument conservation management strategy. Targeted isotope, aDNA and material provenance studies have the potential to reveal different temporalities of continuity or change.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Date accepted:
04/09/2022

Bronze Age c.2200 – 800BC

6.4 What can the archaeology of the Wolds tell us about the transition into the Iron Age, in terms of the impact of climate and environmental change, alterations in lifeways (possibly towards a greater degree of pastoralism) and sedentary versus transhumant inhabitation patterns? How did the pasture and chalk stream valleys of the Wolds articulate with wetlands below? What was the impact upon health, diet and disease?

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Categories:
Bronze age
More information:
Sites producing Bronze Age archaeology should pay careful attention to overlaps in lithic assemblages and feature occupation. Careful and systematic sampling of Bronze Age features for environmental data and contexts suitable for C14 dating should be prioritised to build a better chronology and understanding of the environmental impact of this period of transition. Closer dating of Bronze Age and Iron Age monuments in the Wolds landscape can enhance our understanding of changes in monument typology and assist mapping of this transitional period. Studies of heritage at risk monuments from these periods may provide opportunities for building these data as part of a monument conservation management strategy. Targeted isotope, aDNA and material provenance studies have the potential to reveal different temporalities of continuity or change.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Date accepted:
04/09/2022

6.5 What is the relationship between areas associated with monument construction, ritual activity and burial during the Neolithic and farmed and settled landscapes? Are such areas mutually exclusive (e.g. ‘ritual landscape’ zones) or is this a product of the higher visibility of the former and the shifting, more ephemeral character of the latter? Is the Rudston monolith unique or were there other large upstanding monuments of this kind in the region?

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Categories:
Bronze age
More information:
Sites producing Bronze Age archaeology should pay careful attention to overlaps in lithic assemblages and feature occupation. Careful and systematic sampling of Bronze Age features for environmental data and contexts suitable for C14 dating should be prioritised to build a better chronology and understanding of the environmental impact of this period of transition. Closer dating of Bronze Age and Iron Age monuments in the Wolds landscape can enhance our understanding of changes in monument typology and assist mapping of this transitional period. Studies of heritage at risk monuments from these periods may provide opportunities for building these data as part of a monument conservation management strategy. Targeted isotope, aDNA and material provenance studies have the potential to reveal different temporalities of continuity or change.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Date accepted:
04/09/2022

Iron Age c.800BC – AD43

6.6 What does the Late Iron Age/Roman transition tell us about relation with the Roman world before and around the time of Conquest? Is there evidence for the acquisition of exotic imports, new foodstuffs, material culture etc.? What was the role of Redcliff in the import and dissemination of these trade items and how did the flow of these materials shape perceptions of Rome? What does the South Cave hoard tell us about this peri-Conquest period?

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Pre/Peri-Conquest imports such as wine or olive oil are rare, as are the more elaborate Late Iron Age ceramic products of e.g. Dragonby, or novel weapons styles: where recovered (e.g. South Cave) close dating of deposits and analysis of products, tastes and customs (as well as materials or artefacts) will help elucidate the ubiquity and chronology of these contacts with Rome, its intermediaries or even its enemies such as Gaul.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework

6.7 What was the timing and nature of the impact of the Roman Conquest upon the Wolds? Was it a process of fast, violent occupation and is there evidence for any resistance? Was it a more gradual and slow-scale process and have we underestimated the degree and character of interaction with Rome prior to the occupation of this region, c.70s AD? How was it variably experienced by the local communities?

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Contrastive models of either collusion (in the south-east client kingdoms) or resistance (e.g. Durotriges hillfort communities) do not seem to fit the Conquest era archaeology of the Wolds, which appears relatively uninvolved in trade, politics or cultural affiliations with Rome until the latter quarter of the first century AD. Is this really the case? Strategic review of first century BC/first century AD sites, changes to their use and occupation, the origin of their residents, evidence for trade and overall continuity or disruption across this period, should be a priority for Later Iron Age/Early Roman research projects. Contrasts between rural Wolds farmstead sites and those that develop as urban centres or villas are key areas to target for reappraisal and evaluation of relationships between early/late features, as are early military sites, ritual foci etc.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework

Romano-British AD43 – c.410

6.8 What does the end of the Roman period tell us about changes to the political and civilian infrastructure in the region? What evidence do we have for disruption and discontinuity versus continuity and stability, following the formal withdrawal of the Roman army?

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Categories:
Roman
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The chronology of the basic ladder/droveway enclosure settlement is ill-understood but although some continued into the late fourth century many appear to have gone out of use in the second-third centuries AD, suggesting this was not the collapse of a Roman way of life but transformation into more villa- or village-based economies. Such complexes should be analysed in terms of the ‘end’ of their use-lives and the evidence for shifting settlement; the emergence of new structural and settlement forms; the robbing or re-use of Roman building stone, tile and other materials; the decline in pottery industries; and the re-use or realignment of land boundaries. Further air photographic analysis may also shed significant additional light upon early medieval settlement patterns.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Date accepted:
04/09/2022

Early Medieval c.410 – 1066

6.9 Why and how was there a transition between cremation and inhumation?

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Undertake further work on the cremation and inhumation burials and cemeteries. Undertake further dating on the inhumation cemeteries to determine when they fall out of use. Determine to what extent the large Anglo-Saxon cemetery at paddock hill Thwing is typical.

Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Status:
Active
Local Framework Numbering:

6.10 What was the effect of the transition between paganism and Christianity in the region?

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Undertake further work on the cremation and inhumation burials and cemeteries. Undertake further dating on the inhumation cemeteries to determine when they fall out of use. Determine to what extent the large Anglo-Saxon cemetery at paddock hill Thwing is typical. Further work on the distribution of high status objects and sites from pas and possible “productive ” sites such as north Newbald. Detailed examination of areas around the main villages and towns e.g. Pocklington, Driffield, market Weighton and villages such as Wharram Percy. 

Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Status:
Active
Local Framework Numbering:

6.11 To what extent is the emergence and development of the kingdom of Deira detectable in the archaeological resource?

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Further work on the distribution of high status objects and sites from pas and possible “productive ” sites such as north Newbald. Detailed examination of areas around the main villages and towns e.g. Pocklington, Driffield, market Weighton and villages such as Wharram Percy. Further study of PAS data work of Julian Richards et al. Tracing route of the great army. Sample excavation of extant rig and furrow and that discovered during excavation. Study of aerial photography to plot rig and furrow and other features.

Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Status:
Active
Local Framework Numbering:

6.12 To what extent is it possible to determine to development of nucleated settlements on the Wolds and their correspondence with current villages, and market towns particularly those named in Domesday? What was the effect of the arrival of the Vikings and the development of the Viking kingdom of York on the Wolds region? When did ridge and furrow agriculture begin in the region?

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More information:

Further work on the distribution of high status objects and sites from pas and possible “productive ” sites such as north Newbald. Detailed examination of areas around the main villages and towns e.g. Pocklington, Driffield, market Weighton and villages such as Wharram Percy. Further study of PAS data work of Julian Richards et al. Tracing route of the great army. Sample excavation of extant rig and furrow and that discovered during excavation. Study of aerial photography to plot rig and furrow and other features.

Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Status:
Active
Local Framework Numbering:

High Medieval c.1066 – 1540

6.13 How did the transition from the high medieval to post-medieval era, linked here to the dissolution of the monasteries, affect the archaeology of the Wolds? What was the social, economic and political impact of the reformation on these rural communities, elite and other families, control of land and beliefs?

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Categories:
Medieval
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Since the Wolds lacks major ecclesiastical centres, it is often neglected in accounts of this transitional period. There are, however, significant opportunities for studying changes in land ownership following the dissolution and in the control of agricultural production and surplus in this rural, upland region. Targeted thematic research should include study of changes in healthcare and other support for the poor, once administered by religious communities or fraternities, and investigations into the impacts of changing land ownership (given that estate landowners were often the people who set up almshouses and other facilities for the poor). Further air photographic analysis may also provide significant new insights into medieval settlement patterns (including shrunken and deserted settlements) and field systems.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Date accepted:
04/09/2022

Post-Medieval c.1540 – 1901

6.14 How did mechanisation, further rural depopulation with the growth of towns and cities, major national or global crises (e.g. the Napoleonic wars, the Boer War, Agricultural Depression) and political events (e.g. changes to the Corn Laws, long-term impact of final Enclosure Awards, calls for Suffrage etc.) impact on the Wolds, its people and their politics, and how did this compare with smaller and larger towns in the region (e.g. Hull, York)?

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Categories:
Post medieval
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Documentary research allied to Census records, court records, war records, and changes to village plans, landscape organisation and voting registers can help examine the localised impact and experience of key historical events.
Status:
Active
Authority to change status:
Yorkshire Wolds Research Framework
Date accepted:
04/09/2022

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