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An exploration of small early folk communities prior to the
eleventh century, showing their development and sophistication. All
communities have a strong sense of identity with the area in which
they live, which for England in the early medieval period
manifested itself in a series of territorial entities, ranging from
large kingdoms down to small districts known as pagi or regiones.
This book investigates these small early folk territories, and the
way that they evolved into the administrative units recorded in
Domesday, across an entire kingdom - that of the East Saxons
(broadly speaking, what is now Essex, Middlesex, most of
Hertfordshire, and south Suffolk). A wide range of evidence is
drawn upon, including archaeology, written documents, place-names
and the early cartographic sources. The book looks in particular at
the relationship between Saxon immigrants and the native British
population, and argues that initially these ethnic groups occupied
different parts of the landscape, until a dynasty which assumed an
Anglo-Saxon identity achieved political ascendency (its members
included the so-called "Prittlewell Prince", buried with
spectacular grave-good in Prittlewell, near Southend-on- Sea in
southern Essex). Other significant places discussed include London,
the seat of the first East Saxon bishopric, the possible royal
vills at Wicken Bonhunt near Saffron Walden and Maldon, and St
Peter's Chapel at Bradwell-on-Sea, one of the most important
surviving churches from the early Christian period.
This second volume presenting the research carried out through the
Exeter: A Place in Time project presents a series of specialist
contributions that underpin the general overview published in the
first volume. Chapter 2 provides summaries of the excavations
carried out within the city of Exeter between 1812 and 2019, while
Chapter 3 draws together the evidence for the plan of the legionary
fortress and the streets and buildings of the Roman town. Chapter 4
presents the medieval documentary evidence relating to the
excavations at three sites in central Exeter (High Street, Trichay
Street and Goldsmith Street), with the excavation reports being in
Chapter 5-7. Chapter 8 reports on the excavations and documentary
research at Rack Street in the south-east quarter of the city.
There follows a series of papers covering recent research into the
archaeometallurgical debris, dendrochronology, Roman pottery, Roman
ceramic building material, Roman querns and millstones, Claudian
coins, an overview of the Roman coins from Exeter and Devon,
medieval pottery, and the human remains found in a series of
medieval cemeteries.
This first volume, presenting research carried out through the
Exeter: A Place in Time project, provides a synthesis of the
development of Exeter within its local, regional, national and
international hinterlands. Exeter began life in c. AD 55 as one of
the most important legionary bases within early Roman Britain, and
for two brief periods in the early and late 60s AD, Exeter was a
critical centre of Roman power within the new province. When the
legion moved to Wales the fortress was converted into the civitas
capital for the Dumnonii. Its development as a town was, however,
relatively slow, reflecting the gradual pace at which the region as
a whole adapted to being part of the Roman world. The only evidence
we have for occupation within Exeter between the 5th and 8th
centuries is for a church in what was later to become the Cathedral
Close. In the late 9th century, however, Exeter became a defended
burh, and this was followed by the revival of urban life. Exeter's
wealth was in part derived from its central role in the
south-west's tin industry, and by the late 10th century Exeter was
the fifth most productive mint in England. Exeter's importance
continued to grow as it became an episcopal and royal centre, and
excavations within Exeter have revealed important material culture
assemblages that reflect its role as an international port.
Oxbow says: From 1993, the North Somerset Levels Project sought to
investigate the origins and development of this area of reclaimed
coastal marshland during the first and second millennia AD. The
inter-disciplinary approach taken has added archaeological (survey
and excavation) data, palaeoenvironmental evidence, studies of
documentary sources, architecture, cartography and field- and
place-names, to what was already known about the historic
landscape. This report, which publishes the findings of the
project, examines local and regional changes and variations in the
landscape, focusing on two major phases of exploitation,
modification and transformation during the Roman and medieval
periods. Factors such as agriculture, grazing, salt production,
fishing, draining, flood defence, and the establishment of
settlements, roads, commons, field systems, as well as cultural
factors, are all discussed, as evidence from the local area is
placed within a wider regional context. An excellent study which
exemplifies all that is new and exciting in landscape study.
It has long been recognized that the landscape of Britain is one of
the 'richest historical records we possess', but just how old is
it? The Fields of Britannia is the first book to explore how far
the countryside of Roman Britain has survived in use through to the
present day, shaping the character of our modern countryside.
Commencing with a discussion of the differing views of what
happened to the landscape at the end of Roman Britain, the volume
then brings together the results from hundreds of archaeological
excavations and palaeoenvironmental investigations in order to map
patterns of land-use across Roman and early medieval Britain. In
compiling such extensive data, the volume is able to reconstruct
regional variations in Romano-British and early medieval land-use
using pollen, animal bones, and charred cereal grains to
demonstrate that agricultural regimes varied considerably and were
heavily influenced by underlying geology. We are shown that, in the
fifth and sixth centuries, there was a shift away from intensive
farming but very few areas of the landscape were abandoned
completely. What is revealed is a surprising degree of continuity:
the Roman Empire may have collapsed, but British farmers carried on
regardless, and the result is that now, across large parts of
Britain, many of these Roman field systems are still in use.
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