Anglo-Saxon Landscape & Economy: using portable antiquities to study anglo-saxon and viking england

Project: Research project (funded)Research

Project Details

Description

More is known of the location and density of English settlements AD 700-1000 from the activities of "treasure hunters" than from archaeological fieldwork. This project has used the rich database of coins and metalwork to illuminate Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age landscape and economy. It has (a) investigated the national visibility of metal-detected sites, (b) studied settlement hierarchies by defining characteristic assemblage 'fingerprints' for type sites, (c) used targeted and controlled metal-detecting on a small number of sites to study their development and settlement morphology, (d) charted ethnic identity and change, and economic development.

Key findings

Aim 1: To map national distributions of metalwork types c. AD 700-1000 and to compare these with distributions of early medieval coinage, and landscape factors, in order to understand the visibility, recovery and archaeological distribution of early medieval "productive sites".



This has been completed at national and regional level and the detailed results are presented in the Internet Archaeology monograph-length report. The full results are too lengthy to repeat here but various trends have become apparent, including the relationship between metal detected finds and the road system, as well as some real geographical gaps in material of the period (for example in the Weald).



Aim 2: To characterise the finds assemblages of individual known sites, graphing percentages of coins and other object types in order to examine change through time and to derive "fingerprints" which will help define a hierarchy of settlement types.



Over 80 site fingerprints have been produced and we have developed a new way of presenting these to aid site-by-site comparison. These will each be published, with commentaries, in the Internet Archaeology report. They reveal some significant differences in categories of site that fall within the overall 'productive site' label.



Aim 3: To use targeted and controlled metal detecting of specific sites in the north of England to study their development and morphology from finds distributions.



We have focussed on two local studies where we have been able to investigate a number of related sites: (1) Cottam A, Cottam B and Cowlam; and (2) Wharram Percy and Burdale. The site at Burdale was newly discovered as a result of the VASLE project and became the focus of the University of York's field school in 2006 and 2007. This meant that the labour of 60 first year students under the supervision of 6 experienced archaeologists was used in support of the VASLE project, for a period of 7 weeks, including excavation and post-excavation processing, in each of two years. Burdale is a significant addition to our understanding of Anglo-Saxon productive sites / and is only the third to be excavated to any great extent. Both local studies appear to show specialised sites operating within Middle Saxon multiple estates, and the term 'productive site' is shown to have masked this variability.



Aim 4: To use changes in object and coin types to chart ethnic identity and change, specifically the Anglo-Saxon to Anglo-Scandinavian transition, and to write an economic and landscape history of England AD 700-1000.



This was an ambitious goal but the distribution maps produced as part of Aim 1 combined with the Aim 2 charts and Aim 3 case studies have allowed us to make a contribution to this vision in the conclusions to the project final report, to be published in Internet Archaeology. Furthermore, the project databases for Aim 1 and Aim 2, which will shortly be deposited with the ADS will each provide significant resources for further study, by scholars and students.
AcronymVASLE
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/10/0431/12/07

Funding

  • AHRC: £150,792.00