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Elucidate the chronology and demography of the Roman to Anglo-Saxon transition period
Summary:
The Roman-Anglo-Saxon transition has been identified as a key research theme, encompassing many of the Agenda topics highlighted above[1]. Study of this critical period of demographic and social change has been hampered by an over-reliance upon later and often flimsy historical sources[2]. It is proposed that current models of population change be tested by the application of radiocarbon dating and other scientific techniques to excavated material spanning the fifth and sixth centuries. In view of the paucity of confirmed early settlements, it is recommended that attention be focused upon identifying further settlements likely to date between the fifth and seventh centuries. By contrast, early cemeteries are common in the lowland zone, although many were excavated in the nineteenth century and have limited potential for more detailed study. Moreover, although some key sites have been fully published[3], the material from many cemeteries has yet to be fully analysed or made generally accessible[4]. An initial assessment of published and unpublished material is recommended to identify early burials yielding pots with charred residues suitable for high precision radiocarbon dating and/or human bones appropriate for stable isotope or DNA analyses. The compilation of a regional database of early cemeteries would also provide a useful framework for formulating strategies to ensure the publication of key backlog sites such as Loveden Hill in Lincolnshire[5]. Further insights into this period may also be gained from assessments of the finds recorded through the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which may highlight sites spanning this complex transition period.
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.1-6.1.4; 6.2.1; 6.2.3; 6.4.4; 6.4.5
Assess the landscape settings of Anglo-Saxon burial sites
Summary:
Most publications of Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, barrows and other burial monuments have neglected landscape setting in favour of detailed descriptions of grave goods and burials and, with rare exceptions[6], investigations of burial sites have included little field investigation of the surrounding landscape and environment[7]. There is a pressing need for an assessment of current work on landscape setting and the contemporary environment, which in this region may be traced back to the pioneering work of Collis at the rich burial of Wigber Low in Derbyshire[8]. This should be followed by a detailed study of cemeteries and their settings through field surveys, ground-based geophysical surveys and aerial remote sensing techniques such as air photography and lidar. Particular emphasis should be placed upon the local geology and topography, with consideration of the relationship of cemeteries to physical features such as river channels and slopes and intervisibility with prominent landscape features and monuments. Recent palaeochannel surveys of the Lincolnshire Fens[9] and the Trent Valley[10] provide useful frameworks for analyses of the relationship of cemeteries to contemporary watercourses, and the collection and analysis of appropriate palaeoenvironmental data from these and other wetland environments should be encouraged. Consideration should also be given to local place names and folklore as well as the positioning of burials relative to contemporary settlements[11] and earlier funerary or ritual complexes, parish boundaries and Roman roads[12].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.3; 6.1.4; 6.2.1-6.2.6; 6.4.2
Review the evidence for developing settlement hierarchies
Summary:
Part of the Research Frameworks Network
Archaeology on the A46 Fosse Way: Newark to Lincoln)A review is recommended of the evidence for changes in the morphology of settlement and the development of settlement hierarchies[13], drawing in particular upon the data obtained from developer-funded excavations over the last two decades. This substantial body of evidence has for the most part not been assessed in the light of information obtained from landscape features, air photography, sculpture, place-names and data on metallic stray finds generated by the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Large-scale surveys of areas such as the Lincolnshire Fens[14], Northamptonshire[15] and Leicestershire[16] demonstrate the extent of settlement of this period, but the detail of chronology is masked by the limited typological variability of ceramic assemblages. This makes it difficult to establish whether structural agglomeration represents nucleation or simply successive occupation in approximately the same location[17]. An extension of landscape surveys, combined with published reviews of the wider evidence and the dissemination of information on settlement morphology and functions obtained from recent large-scale excavations at settlements such as Raunds[18] and Higham Ferrers[19] in Northamptonshire and Brough in Nottinghamshire[20] should be encouraged as a means of elucidating further these issues[21].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.4.1-6.4.5; 6.6.1; 6.6.2
Investigate further the nature and extent of Anglo-Scandinavian settlement by reference to stone sculpture
Summary:
Determination of the nature and extent of Scandinavian rural settlement and of the impact of Danish occupation upon the development of towns such as Lincoln[22] and Nottingham[23] remain major research priorities[24]. The region has revealed the only known Scandinavian cremation cemetery in Britain, at Ingleby in Derbyshire[25], but archaeological evidence for Viking settlement remains stubbornly elusive. Much, however, may be learned from the place-name evidence[26]. In addition, publication of the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture for Lincolnshire has highlighted the potential of sculptured stonework as a data source for more detailed consideration of the extent and nature of Anglo-Scandinavian settlement[27]. Studies continue of stone sculpture across other East Midlands Counties[28], and when completed may identify distinctive settlement and artefact evidence elucidating the location and identity of Anglo-Scandinavian settlement. Overarching themes that might emerge from completion of this work, which could usefully be combined with a detailed reassessment of place-name data[29], include evidence for sub-regional variations in settlement patterns and the extent and nature of Hiberno-Norse contacts (both of which themes have been advanced from analysis of the sculptured stonework of Lincolnshire[30]).
Agenda topics addressed: 6.4.1-6.4.5
Undertake further research on urban development in the Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods
Summary:
s Church in the background (Williams, J, Shaw, M and Denham, V 1985Middle Saxon Palaces at Northampton`. Northampton Development Corporation Archaeological Monograph 4; reproduced by permission of Northamptonshire Archaeology)There is little evidence for intensive occupation in the early Anglo-Saxon period at the Roman public towns of Lincoln[31] and Leicester[32] or for urban-scale activity at other Roman towns, and a survey of the evidence for nucleated settlement at former Roman towns is long overdue. This should collate excavation, environmental, fieldwalking, metal-detecting, geophysical and other remote sensing data in order to clarify current knowledge and provide a sound basis for future work. Key questions for later periods include the growth from Middle Saxon times of defended urban centres such as Nottingham and commercial foci such as Torksey in Lincolnshire[33]. There is an especially urgent need for the publication of past excavations in Nottingham, as these have major potential for advancing knowledge of the Anglian town and the impact of Danish occupation[34], and an updated review of the evidence for Viking activity at the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw would be most welcome[35]. At Torksey, further archaeological investigations may be proposed to elucidate the growth of the important riverside trading centre and pottery production site that developed from the late eighth century[36].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.5; 6.1.6; 6.2.6; 6.5.1-6.5.4; 6.6.1; 6.6.2
Identify cultural boundaries in the Early Medieval period
Summary:
Grey Ditch, Bradwell, Derbyshire. 1992 Excavation: Preliminary Report. Nottingham: Trent & Peak Archaeological Trust; O`Neil, B., 1945. Grey Ditch, Bradwell, Derbyshire. Antiquity 19, 11-19; photograph: Graeme Guilbert)Further archaeological and historical research is proposed to investigate the pattern of regional and sub-regional boundaries in the Early Medieval period. The foremost of these is the boundary of the Danelaw, although the location of this changed over time and can be variously defined depending upon the relative weight that is attached to documentary, place-name or archaeological evidence (e.g. Anglo-Scandinavian sculpture: (Objective 6D)[37]. It is possible that the north-western boundary of the Danelaw mirrored to some extent earlier boundaries focusing on the Trent Valley, and that the distinctive settlement patterns and material culture of this period to the north and west of our region had a deep-rooted history (see Objectives 6D and 6I)[38]. The arrangement had been preceded by smaller kingdoms and petty princedoms that appear to have had their origins in the fifth and sixth centuries, perhaps based in part upon Roman secondary towns[39]. Further study of settlement morphology and material culture, together with place-name studies and investigations wherever possible of potential earthwork boundaries, may permit refinement of this very broad picture. Earthwork boundaries of this period are thought to be rare[40], but there is a strong possibility that some prehistoric earthworks retained their boundary functions for long periods, as may have some roads and rivers. It may also prove possible to identify natural barriers that had served as social or political divides, correlating for example with rivers such as the Trent[41] or in low-lying regions with areas of uninhabitable fen[42].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.7; 6.3.1; 6.3.4; 6.4.2
Elucidate the development of the parochial system
Summary:
Archaeology on the A46 Fosse Way: Newark to Lincoln; photograph: D. Knight)The origin of this most basic building block of the medieval landscape remains poorly understood[43], yet there is significant potential for further multi-disciplinary enquiry into the landscape, archaeological, sculptural and documentary evidence for these units. Archaeologically, the parish is manifested most obviously by its boundaries, which commonly follow ancient watercourses, roads and linear earthworks, and by its churches[44]. The existence of tenth or eleventh century sculptural fragments at some 15% of Lincolnshire parish church locations has been cited as possible evidence for the early development of the parochial system[45], and additional work on the region’s rich resource of sculptural stone is recommended to investigate further this relationship (see also Objective 6D). This should be accompanied by further field investigations of landscape features associated with parish boundaries, which may identify relationships with datable archaeological features such as former Roman roads and prehistoric linear earthworks[46] and highlight opportunities for targeted excavations to investigate stratigraphic relationships between features and retrieve material suitable for dating.
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.7; 6.3.1; 6.3.4; 6.4.1
Assess the evidence for extractive industries in the late Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods
Summary:
Industries that were important during the late Roman period appear on current evidence to have been largely or wholly abandoned until growing demands for commodities such as lead for church windows and roofs spurred a resurgence from the later seventh century[47]. Little is known of the extraction and production techniques associated with key industries of the seventh to tenth centuries, although we know from documentary sources that some, such as the Derbyshire lead industry, were probably well established by the early eighth century[48]. An assessment of current evidence is proposed as a first step towards developing a strategy for future fieldwork and targeted excavation. Key research questions include the development of lead mining and the smelting of lead ores in the Derbyshire uplands, the growth of iron-working, building upon work in areas such as Rockingham Forest[49] and around Medbourne[50], and the origin and character of the ‘salt-hills’ that it has been suggested were accumulating from before the early to mid-tenth century in the Lindsey marshes[51].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.3.3; 6.6.2; 6.6.5; 6.6.6; 6.7.5
St Peters Street, Northampton` (Northampton Development Corporation Archaeological Monograph 2). Northampton: Northampton Development Corporation, 123-128; images reproduced by permission of Northamptonshire Archaeology)Review the nature and distribution of exotic imported goods in Anglo-Saxon contexts
Summary:
The range and distribution of exotic material, reviewed some time ago[52], should be reassessed in the light of the many finds that have been recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme and during more recent excavations. There is also a need for a review of the cemetery at Sleaford[53], which with its exceptional record of amber and crystal beads and ivory rings is currently without parallel in this region[54], and for the publication of important excavated assemblages such as those retrieved from excavations of the Anglo-Saxon borough of Nottingham[55]. Further clarification of trade routes and exchange mechanisms should assist in the formulation of future excavation and fieldwork strategies, and in particular should enhance our understanding of the role of the Trent as a possible cultural boundary (see also Objective 6F). Current information on the distribution of exotic goods suggests a fundamental contrast between areas south and east of the Trent Valley, where exotic finds are widely distributed, and parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to the north and west, where examples occur rarely[56]. These distribution patterns appear not to correlate with distances from maritime and inland distribution routes or with variations in the extent of archaeological fieldwork. However, bearing in mind other contrasts in the archaeological record either side of the Trent corridor[57], the artefact patterns might have a cultural explanation.
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.6; 6.2.1; 6.2.3; 6.3.3; 6.3.4; 6.6.1; 6.6.2; 6.6.5
Update and expand the East Midlands Anglo-Saxon Pottery Project
Summary:
Granodiorite inclusion revealed by electron microprobe analysis of Anglo-Saxon cremation urn from Kingston-upon-Soar, Nottinghamshire
Pottery represents a critical cultural and chronological marker with impacts on many Agenda items, and there is a need to build on existing work to create a standardised fabric series and ceramic typology across the region. In particular, the East Midlands Anglo-Saxon Pottery Project[58], which surveyed pottery fabrics in Lincolnshire, the Trent valley and Derbyshire, should be extended to include Leicestershire and Northamptonshire[59]. The development of standard fabric classifications should enable confirmation of the extent of pottery use in north-west Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, where there is currently limited ceramic evidence, and will permit further investigation of the contrasting archaeological record of lands north and west of the Trent and the remainder of the East Midlands. It would also elucidate the location and extent of pottery production in the upper Trent Valley, Lindsey, Kesteven and Charnwood Forest[60]. In the case of Charnwood, this would permit comparison with the results of current petrographic and electron microprobe analyses of granitoid-tempered prehistoric pottery derived from multiple production sources in this area of Leicestershire (compare Objective 4G)[61][62].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.3.3; 6.3.4; 6.6.1; 6.6.6
Strategic Objective 6A
Elucidate the chronology and demography of the Roman to Anglo-Saxon transition period
Summary:
The Roman-Anglo-Saxon transition has been identified as a key research theme, encompassing many of the Agenda topics highlighted above[1]. Study of this critical period of demographic and social change has been hampered by an over-reliance upon later and often flimsy historical sources[2]. It is proposed that current models of population change be tested by the application of radiocarbon dating and other scientific techniques to excavated material spanning the fifth and sixth centuries. In view of the paucity of confirmed early settlements, it is recommended that attention be focused upon identifying further settlements likely to date between the fifth and seventh centuries. By contrast, early cemeteries are common in the lowland zone, although many were excavated in the nineteenth century and have limited potential for more detailed study. Moreover, although some key sites have been fully published[3], the material from many cemeteries has yet to be fully analysed or made generally accessible[4]. An initial assessment of published and unpublished material is recommended to identify early burials yielding pots with charred residues suitable for high precision radiocarbon dating and/or human bones appropriate for stable isotope or DNA analyses. The compilation of a regional database of early cemeteries would also provide a useful framework for formulating strategies to ensure the publication of key backlog sites such as Loveden Hill in Lincolnshire[5]. Further insights into this period may also be gained from assessments of the finds recorded through the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which may highlight sites spanning this complex transition period.
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.1-6.1.4; 6.2.1; 6.2.3; 6.4.4; 6.4.5
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 166-167
Other research frameworks:
EH National Heritage Science Strategy Report 2 2009: Sections 3.2.1 (Chronology) and 3.3.1 (People and environment).
Medieval Pottery Research Group 2011: National Priority A8 (Increasing the provision for scientific analysis of ceramics)
References:
[1] Vince, A G 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon period’ in Archaeology of the East Midlands, 163, 184: Table 7
[2] Vince 2006, 161, 163
[3] eg Kinsley, A G 1989 The Anglo-Saxon Settlement at Millgate, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire (University of Nottingham Archaeological Monographs 2). Nottingham: University of Nottingham; Liddle, P, Glaswell, S J and Cooper, N J 2000 ‘Empingham I Early Anglo-Saxon Settlement and Cemetery’ in Cooper N J (ed) The Archaeology of Rutland Water (University of Leicester Archaeology Monographs 6). Leicester: University of Leicester
[4] eg Bruce-Mitford, R 1993 ‘Late Celtic hanging-bowls in Lincolnshire and South Humberside’ in Vince A (ed) Pre-Viking Lindsey (Lincoln Archaeology Studies 1). Lincoln: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit; Leahy, K 1993 ‘The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Lindsey’, in Vince A (ed) Pre-Viking Lindsey (Lincoln Archaeology Studies 1). Lincoln: City of Lincoln, 33, 40; Vince 2006, 169
[5] Compare Cleatham in North Lincolnshire, recently analysed and published by Kevin Leahy (Leahy, K 2007 Interrupting the Pots: The Excavation of Cleatham Anglo-Saxon Cemetery (CBA Research Report 155). York: Council for British Archaeology
Strategic Objective 6B
Assess the landscape settings of Anglo-Saxon burial sites
Summary:
Most publications of Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, barrows and other burial monuments have neglected landscape setting in favour of detailed descriptions of grave goods and burials and, with rare exceptions[6], investigations of burial sites have included little field investigation of the surrounding landscape and environment[7]. There is a pressing need for an assessment of current work on landscape setting and the contemporary environment, which in this region may be traced back to the pioneering work of Collis at the rich burial of Wigber Low in Derbyshire[8]. This should be followed by a detailed study of cemeteries and their settings through field surveys, ground-based geophysical surveys and aerial remote sensing techniques such as air photography and lidar. Particular emphasis should be placed upon the local geology and topography, with consideration of the relationship of cemeteries to physical features such as river channels and slopes and intervisibility with prominent landscape features and monuments. Recent palaeochannel surveys of the Lincolnshire Fens[9] and the Trent Valley[10] provide useful frameworks for analyses of the relationship of cemeteries to contemporary watercourses, and the collection and analysis of appropriate palaeoenvironmental data from these and other wetland environments should be encouraged. Consideration should also be given to local place names and folklore as well as the positioning of burials relative to contemporary settlements[11] and earlier funerary or ritual complexes, parish boundaries and Roman roads[12].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.3; 6.1.4; 6.2.1-6.2.6; 6.4.2
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 170, 278-279
Other research frameworks:
EH National Heritage Science Strategy Report 2 2009: Sections 3.3.1 (People and environment) and 3.5.1 (detecting and imaging)
References:
[6] eg Guilbert, G 2006 ‘Excavations at Holme Pierrepont Quarry, Nottinghamshire, in 2002-03: Preliminary summary of a multi-period palimpsest on the Trent gravels’. Transactions of the Thoroton Society 110, 15-48; Leahy, K 2007 Interrupting the Pots: The Excavation of Cleatham Anglo-Saxon Cemetery (CBA Research Report 155). York: Council for British Archaeology
[7] Elliott, L, Jones, H and Howard, A J 2004 ‘The medieval landscape’ in Knight D and Howard A J, Trent Valley Landscapes. Kings Lynn: Heritage Marketing and Publications, 163-65
[8] Collis, J 1983 Wigber Low, Derbyshire: A Bronze Age and Anglian Burial Site in the White Peak. Sheffield: University of Sheffield, Department of Prehistory and Archaeology.
[9] http://www.apsarchaeology.co.uk/services/lidar/index.php?page=Services_LIDAR_Introduction
[10] Baker, S 2007 ‘Cultural heritage management and the palaeo-environmental resource: Surveying the surface-visible palaeochannel record in the Trent Valley’ (http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/palaeo_eh_2006/).
[11] Vince, A G, 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon period’ in The Archaeology of the East Midlands, 170
[12] Kinsley, A G 1993 Broughton Lodge. Excavations on the Romano-British Settlement and Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Broughton Lodge, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, Nottinghamshire, 1964-8 (University of Nottingham Archaeological Monographs 4). Nottingham: University of Nottingham, 73-74
Review the evidence for developing settlement hierarchies
Summary:
Archaeology on the A46 Fosse Way: Newark to Lincoln)A review is recommended of the evidence for changes in the morphology of settlement and the development of settlement hierarchies[13], drawing in particular upon the data obtained from developer-funded excavations over the last two decades. This substantial body of evidence has for the most part not been assessed in the light of information obtained from landscape features, air photography, sculpture, place-names and data on metallic stray finds generated by the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Large-scale surveys of areas such as the Lincolnshire Fens[14], Northamptonshire[15] and Leicestershire[16] demonstrate the extent of settlement of this period, but the detail of chronology is masked by the limited typological variability of ceramic assemblages. This makes it difficult to establish whether structural agglomeration represents nucleation or simply successive occupation in approximately the same location[17]. An extension of landscape surveys, combined with published reviews of the wider evidence and the dissemination of information on settlement morphology and functions obtained from recent large-scale excavations at settlements such as Raunds[18] and Higham Ferrers[19] in Northamptonshire and Brough in Nottinghamshire[20] should be encouraged as a means of elucidating further these issues[21].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.4.1-6.4.5; 6.6.1; 6.6.2
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 172-174
References:
[13] Vince, A G 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon period’ in The Archaeology of the East Midlands, 172-73
[14] Hayes, P and Lane, T 1992 The Fenland Project, No.5: Lincolnshire Survey, The South-West Fens. East Anglian Archaeology 55
[15] Parry, S 2006 Raunds Area Survey: An archaeological study of the landscape of Raunds, Northamptonshire 1985-94. Oxford: Oxbow Books
[16] Knox, R 2004 ‘The Anglo-Saxons in Leicestershire’ in Bowman, P and Liddle, P (eds), Leicestershire Landscapes (Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Fieldwork Group Monograph 1). Leicester: Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Fieldwork Group, 95-104
[17] Vince 2006, 172-173
[18] Chapman, A 2010 West Cotton, Raunds. A Study of Medieval Settlement Dynamics AD 450-1450. Oxford: Oxbow Books
[19] Hardy, A Charles B M and Williams, R J 2007. Death and Taxes: The Archaeology of a Middle Saxon Estate Centre at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire. Oxford: Oxford Archaeological Unit
[20] Vyner, B (ed) in prep Archaeology on the A46 Fosse Way: Newark to Lincoln.
[21] See also reports on excavations at Flixborough, North Lincolnshire, which provide important comparative evidence for the development of Early Medieval settlement just outside our area: Loveluck, C and Atkinson, D 2007 The Early Medieval Settlement Remains from Flixborough, Lincolnshire: The Occupation Sequence, c.AD 600-1000. Oxford: Oxbow Books; Loveluck, C 2007 Rural Settlement, Lifestyles and Social Change in the Later First Millennium AD: Anglo-Saxon Flixborough in its Wider Context. Oxford: Oxbow Books
Investigate further the nature and extent of Anglo-Scandinavian settlement by reference to stone sculpture
Summary:
Determination of the nature and extent of Scandinavian rural settlement and of the impact of Danish occupation upon the development of towns such as Lincoln[22] and Nottingham[23] remain major research priorities[24]. The region has revealed the only known Scandinavian cremation cemetery in Britain, at Ingleby in Derbyshire[25], but archaeological evidence for Viking settlement remains stubbornly elusive. Much, however, may be learned from the place-name evidence[26]. In addition, publication of the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture for Lincolnshire has highlighted the potential of sculptured stonework as a data source for more detailed consideration of the extent and nature of Anglo-Scandinavian settlement[27]. Studies continue of stone sculpture across other East Midlands Counties[28], and when completed may identify distinctive settlement and artefact evidence elucidating the location and identity of Anglo-Scandinavian settlement. Overarching themes that might emerge from completion of this work, which could usefully be combined with a detailed reassessment of place-name data[29], include evidence for sub-regional variations in settlement patterns and the extent and nature of Hiberno-Norse contacts (both of which themes have been advanced from analysis of the sculptured stonework of Lincolnshire[30]).
Agenda topics addressed: 6.4.1-6.4.5
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 210-212
References:
[22] Jones, M J Stocker, D and Vince, A 2003. The City by the Pool: Assessing the Archaeology of the City of Lincoln. Oxford, Oxbow Books
[23] Roffe, D 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon town and the Norman Conquest’ in Beckett, J (ed) A Centenary History of Nottingham. Chichester: Phillimore, 24-42
[24] Lewis, C 2006 ‘The medieval period’ in The Archaeology of the East Midlands, 188, 191, 210-12
[25] Richards, J D 2004 ‘Excavations at the Viking Barrow Cemetery at Heath Wood, Ingleby, Derbyshire, 1998-2000’. Antiquaries Journal 84, 23-116; site archive: Richards, J D 2004. Excavations at the Viking Barrow Cemetery at Heath Wood, Ingleby, Derbyshire, 1998-2000. (http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/ingleby_soa_2003/)
[26] Cameron, K 1975 Place-name Evidence for the Anglo-Saxon Invasion and Scandinavian Settlements. Nottingham: English Place Name Society
[27] Everson, P and Stocker, D 1999 Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture 5: Lincolnshire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 76-79
[28] Corpora for Derbyshire (Hawkes, J and Sidebottom, P) and Leicestershire & Northamptonshire (Cramp, R and Story, J) in progress. For Leicestershire see Cramp, R 2010 ‘New directions in the study of Anglo-Saxon sculpture’. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society 84, 1-25
[29] Lewis 2006, 211
[30] Everson and Stocker 1999, 80-87
Undertake further research on urban development in the Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods
Summary:
s Church in the background (Williams, J, Shaw, M and Denham, V 1985Middle Saxon Palaces at Northampton`. Northampton Development Corporation Archaeological Monograph 4; reproduced by permission of Northamptonshire Archaeology)There is little evidence for intensive occupation in the early Anglo-Saxon period at the Roman public towns of Lincoln[31] and Leicester[32] or for urban-scale activity at other Roman towns, and a survey of the evidence for nucleated settlement at former Roman towns is long overdue. This should collate excavation, environmental, fieldwalking, metal-detecting, geophysical and other remote sensing data in order to clarify current knowledge and provide a sound basis for future work. Key questions for later periods include the growth from Middle Saxon times of defended urban centres such as Nottingham and commercial foci such as Torksey in Lincolnshire[33]. There is an especially urgent need for the publication of past excavations in Nottingham, as these have major potential for advancing knowledge of the Anglian town and the impact of Danish occupation[34], and an updated review of the evidence for Viking activity at the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw would be most welcome[35]. At Torksey, further archaeological investigations may be proposed to elucidate the growth of the important riverside trading centre and pottery production site that developed from the late eighth century[36].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.5; 6.1.6; 6.2.6; 6.5.1-6.5.4; 6.6.1; 6.6.2
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 174-176
Other research frameworks:
Medieval Pottery Research Group, 2011: 34-35, especially Research Aims EM12 (Leicester) and 22-23 (Nottingham)
EH National Heritage Science Strategy Report 2 2009: Section 3.3.1 (People and environment)
EH Thematic Research Strategy for the Urban Historic Environment 2010: Priorities UR1 (Synthesis of developer-funded research), UR2 (Urban characterisation) and UR 3 (Survival of early form and fabric in historic towns)
References:
[31] Vince, A G 2003 ‘Lincoln in the Early Medieval Era between the fifth and ninth centuries’ in Jones, M J, Stocker, D and Vince, A (eds) The City By The Pool: Assessing the Archaeology of the City of Lincoln. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 143
[32] Courtney, P 1998 ‘Saxon and medieval Leicester: The making of an urban landscape’. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society 73, 110-45
[33] Ulmschneider, K 2000 ‘Settlement, economy and the ‘productive’ site’. Medieval Archaeology 44, 53-60; Vince, A G 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon period’ in The Archaeology of the East Midlands, 174-176
[34] Young, C 1982 Discovering Rescue Archaeology in Nottingham. Nottingham: Nottingham City Museums; Roffe, D 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon town and the Norman Conquest’ in Beckett, J (ed) A Centenary History of Nottingham. Chichester: Phillimore, 24-42
[35] Building upon Hall, R A 1985 ‘The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw: a review of present knowledge’. Anglo-Saxon England 18, 149-206
[36] Vince 2006, 176
Identify cultural boundaries in the Early Medieval period
Summary:
Grey Ditch, Bradwell, Derbyshire. 1992 Excavation: Preliminary Report. Nottingham: Trent & Peak Archaeological Trust; O`Neil, B., 1945. Grey Ditch, Bradwell, Derbyshire. Antiquity 19, 11-19; photograph: Graeme Guilbert)Further archaeological and historical research is proposed to investigate the pattern of regional and sub-regional boundaries in the Early Medieval period. The foremost of these is the boundary of the Danelaw, although the location of this changed over time and can be variously defined depending upon the relative weight that is attached to documentary, place-name or archaeological evidence (e.g. Anglo-Scandinavian sculpture: (Objective 6D)[37]. It is possible that the north-western boundary of the Danelaw mirrored to some extent earlier boundaries focusing on the Trent Valley, and that the distinctive settlement patterns and material culture of this period to the north and west of our region had a deep-rooted history (see Objectives 6D and 6I)[38]. The arrangement had been preceded by smaller kingdoms and petty princedoms that appear to have had their origins in the fifth and sixth centuries, perhaps based in part upon Roman secondary towns[39]. Further study of settlement morphology and material culture, together with place-name studies and investigations wherever possible of potential earthwork boundaries, may permit refinement of this very broad picture. Earthwork boundaries of this period are thought to be rare[40], but there is a strong possibility that some prehistoric earthworks retained their boundary functions for long periods, as may have some roads and rivers. It may also prove possible to identify natural barriers that had served as social or political divides, correlating for example with rivers such as the Trent[41] or in low-lying regions with areas of uninhabitable fen[42].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.7; 6.3.1; 6.3.4; 6.4.2
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 163-167, 216
References:
[37] Hill, D 1981 An Atlas of Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Blackwell, Maps 58-61, 68, 83-90
[38] Vince, A G 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon period’ in The Archaeology of the East Midlands, 163
[39] Foard, G 1985 ‘The administrative organisation of Northamptonshire in the Saxon period’. Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 4, 185-222
[40] Vince 2006, 167
[41] Elliott, L, Jones, H and Howard, A J 2004 ‘The medieval landscape’ in Knight D and Howard A J Trent Valley Landscapes. Kings Lynn: Heritage Marketing & Publications, 159-160, 163
[42] eg SW Lincolnshire Fens: Hayes, P and Lane, T 1992 The Fenland Project, No.5: Lincolnshire Survey, The South West Fens. East Anglian Archaeology 55, 213-15, Fig 127
Elucidate the development of the parochial system
Summary:
Archaeology on the A46 Fosse Way: Newark to Lincoln; photograph: D. Knight)The origin of this most basic building block of the medieval landscape remains poorly understood[43], yet there is significant potential for further multi-disciplinary enquiry into the landscape, archaeological, sculptural and documentary evidence for these units. Archaeologically, the parish is manifested most obviously by its boundaries, which commonly follow ancient watercourses, roads and linear earthworks, and by its churches[44]. The existence of tenth or eleventh century sculptural fragments at some 15% of Lincolnshire parish church locations has been cited as possible evidence for the early development of the parochial system[45], and additional work on the region’s rich resource of sculptural stone is recommended to investigate further this relationship (see also Objective 6D). This should be accompanied by further field investigations of landscape features associated with parish boundaries, which may identify relationships with datable archaeological features such as former Roman roads and prehistoric linear earthworks[46] and highlight opportunities for targeted excavations to investigate stratigraphic relationships between features and retrieve material suitable for dating.
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.7; 6.3.1; 6.3.4; 6.4.1
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 216
References:
[43] eg Elliott, L, Jones, H and Howard, A J 2004 ‘The medieval landscape’ in Knight D and Howard A J Trent Valley Landscapes. Kings Lynn: Heritage Marketing and Publications, 165-166
[44] eg Raunds Furnells, Northamptonshire: Boddington, A 1996 Raunds Furnells. The Anglo-Saxon Church and its Churchyard. London: English Heritage
[45] Everson, P and Stocker, D 1999 Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture 5: Lincolnshire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 76-79; Stocker, D and Everson, P 2001 ‘Five town funerals: Decoding diversity in Danelaw sculpture’ in Graham-Campbell, Hall, J R, Jesch, J et al (eds) Vikings and the Danelaw: Select papers from the Proceedings of the Thirteenth Viking Congress. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 226-229
[46] eg The Fosse Way, which for much of its course from Newark southwards to Leicestershire correlates with parish boundaries, notably around the Roman town of Vernemetum: Kinsley, AG 1993. Broughton Lodge. Excavations on the Romano-British Settlement and Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Broughton Lodge, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, Nottinghamshire, 1964-8 (University of Nottingham Archaeological Monographs 4). Nottingham: University of Nottingham
Assess the evidence for extractive industries in the late Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods
Summary:
Industries that were important during the late Roman period appear on current evidence to have been largely or wholly abandoned until growing demands for commodities such as lead for church windows and roofs spurred a resurgence from the later seventh century[47]. Little is known of the extraction and production techniques associated with key industries of the seventh to tenth centuries, although we know from documentary sources that some, such as the Derbyshire lead industry, were probably well established by the early eighth century[48]. An assessment of current evidence is proposed as a first step towards developing a strategy for future fieldwork and targeted excavation. Key research questions include the development of lead mining and the smelting of lead ores in the Derbyshire uplands, the growth of iron-working, building upon work in areas such as Rockingham Forest[49] and around Medbourne[50], and the origin and character of the ‘salt-hills’ that it has been suggested were accumulating from before the early to mid-tenth century in the Lindsey marshes[51].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.3.3; 6.6.2; 6.6.5; 6.6.6; 6.7.5
St Peters Street, Northampton` (Northampton Development Corporation Archaeological Monograph 2). Northampton: Northampton Development Corporation, 123-128; images reproduced by permission of Northamptonshire Archaeology)Archaeology of the East Midlands: 176-178
Other research frameworks:
EH National Heritage Science Strategy Report 2 2009: Section 3.4.1 (Understanding materials)
EH Thematic Research Strategy for the Historic Industrial Environment 2010: Priority IND 1 (Origins of industrialisation: understanding early industry)
References:
[47] Vince, A G 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon period’ in The Archaeology of the East Midlands, 176-78
[48] Barnatt, J and Penny, R 2004 The Lead Legacy: The Prospects for the Peak District’s Lead Mining Heritage. Peak District National Park Authority, Chapter 2.7
[49] Foard, G 2001 ‘Settlement, land use and industry in Medieval Rockingham Forest, Northamptonshire’. Medieval Archaeology 45, 41-96
[50] Knox, R 2004 ‘The Anglo-Saxons in Leicestershire’ in Bowman, P and Liddle, P (eds) Leicestershire Landscapes (Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Fieldwork Group Monograph 1). Leicester: Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Fieldwork Group, 100
[51] Vince 2006, 177; Healey, H 1993 ‘Saltmaking II: Saxon and Medieval’ in Bennett, S and Bennett, N An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire. Hull: University of Hull Press, 28-29
Strategic Objective 6I
Review the nature and distribution of exotic imported goods in Anglo-Saxon contexts
Summary:
The range and distribution of exotic material, reviewed some time ago[52], should be reassessed in the light of the many finds that have been recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme and during more recent excavations. There is also a need for a review of the cemetery at Sleaford[53], which with its exceptional record of amber and crystal beads and ivory rings is currently without parallel in this region[54], and for the publication of important excavated assemblages such as those retrieved from excavations of the Anglo-Saxon borough of Nottingham[55]. Further clarification of trade routes and exchange mechanisms should assist in the formulation of future excavation and fieldwork strategies, and in particular should enhance our understanding of the role of the Trent as a possible cultural boundary (see also Objective 6F). Current information on the distribution of exotic goods suggests a fundamental contrast between areas south and east of the Trent Valley, where exotic finds are widely distributed, and parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to the north and west, where examples occur rarely[56]. These distribution patterns appear not to correlate with distances from maritime and inland distribution routes or with variations in the extent of archaeological fieldwork. However, bearing in mind other contrasts in the archaeological record either side of the Trent corridor[57], the artefact patterns might have a cultural explanation.
Agenda topics addressed: 6.1.6; 6.2.1; 6.2.3; 6.3.3; 6.3.4; 6.6.1; 6.6.2; 6.6.5
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 179-180
Other research frameworks:
EH National Heritage Science Strategy Report 2, 2009: Section 3.4.1 (Understanding materials)
References:
[52] Huggett, J W 1988 ‘Imported grave goods and the Anglo-Saxon economy’. Medieval Archaeology 32, 63-96
[53] Vince, A G 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon period’ in The Archaeology of the East Midlands, 180
[54] Huggett 1988, 64-71
[55] Roffe, D 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon town and the Norman Conquest’ in J V Beckett (ed) A Centenary History of Nottingham. Chichester: Phillimore, 24-42; Young, C S B 1982 Discovering Rescue Archaeology in Nottingham. Nottingham: Nottingham City Museums
[56] Huggett 1988; eg Wigber Low, Derbyshire: Collis, J 1983 Wigber Low, Derbyshire: A Bronze Age and Anglian Burial Site in the White Peak. Sheffield: University of Sheffield, Department of Prehistory and Archaeology; Foster, P and Collis, J 1988 ‘Kniveton, Wigber Low’. Medieval Archaeology 32, 235-237
[57] Vince 2006, 163-164
Update and expand the East Midlands Anglo-Saxon Pottery Project
Summary:
Granodiorite inclusion revealed by electron microprobe analysis of Anglo-Saxon cremation urn from Kingston-upon-Soar, Nottinghamshire
Pottery represents a critical cultural and chronological marker with impacts on many Agenda items, and there is a need to build on existing work to create a standardised fabric series and ceramic typology across the region. In particular, the East Midlands Anglo-Saxon Pottery Project[58], which surveyed pottery fabrics in Lincolnshire, the Trent valley and Derbyshire, should be extended to include Leicestershire and Northamptonshire[59]. The development of standard fabric classifications should enable confirmation of the extent of pottery use in north-west Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, where there is currently limited ceramic evidence, and will permit further investigation of the contrasting archaeological record of lands north and west of the Trent and the remainder of the East Midlands. It would also elucidate the location and extent of pottery production in the upper Trent Valley, Lindsey, Kesteven and Charnwood Forest[60]. In the case of Charnwood, this would permit comparison with the results of current petrographic and electron microprobe analyses of granitoid-tempered prehistoric pottery derived from multiple production sources in this area of Leicestershire (compare Objective 4G)[61][62].
Agenda topics addressed: 6.3.3; 6.3.4; 6.6.1; 6.6.6
Archaeology of the East Midlands: 178
Other research frameworks:
EH National Heritage Science Strategy Report 2 2009: Section 3.4.1 (Understanding materials)
Medieval Pottery Research Group 2011: Regional Research Aim EM1; National Priority A6
References:
[58] Vince, A and Young, J 1991 ‘East Midlands Anglo-Saxon Pottery Project’. Lincoln Archaeology 3, 38-39
[59] Vince, A G 2006 ‘The Anglo-Saxon period’ in The Archaeology of the East Midlands, 178
[60] Williams, D F and Vince, A 1997 ‘The characterisation and interpretation of early to middle Saxon granitic tempered pottery in England’. Medieval Archaeology 61, 214-220
[61] Knight, D, Marsden, P and Carney, J 2003 ‘Local or non-local? Prehistoric granodiorite-tempered pottery in the East Midlands’ in Gibson, A (ed) Prehistoric Pottery: People, Pattern and Purpose (BAR International Series 1156). Oxford: B.A.R, 111-125
[62] Knight, D, Faber, E, Carney et al 2012 Prehistoric Pottery Production in Charnwood Forest. Report for English Heritage (submitted to ADS: http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/charnwood_eh_2014/)