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Scheduled Monument
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Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.
SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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OS Card
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Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments.
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SMR Card
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Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record.
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TBAS
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Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record.
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Documentary Evidence
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Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts.
When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey.
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Geophysical Survey
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The measuring and recording of electrical resistivity or magnetism in order to determine the existence and outline of buried features such as walls and ditches. Geophysical techniques include resistivity survey, magnetometer survey and ground penetrating radar.
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Earthwork Survey
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The measuring and plotting of earthworks, such as banks, ditches, mounds and areas of ridge and furrow cultivation, to create a plan of what exists on the ground. Earthwork surveys are sometimes also called topographical surveys.
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Earthwork
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Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.
In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.
Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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Prehistoric
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About 500,000 BC to 42 AD
The Prehistoric period covers all the periods from the Palaeolithic to the end of the Iron Age.
This is a time when people did not write anything down so there is no documentary evidence for archaeologists to look at. Instead, the archaeologists look at the material culture belonging to the people and the places where they lived for clues about their way of life.
The Prehistoric period is divided into the Early Prehistoric and Later Prehistoric.
The Early Prehistoric period covers the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods.
The Later Prehistoric period covers Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age times.
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Medieval
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1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)
The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.
The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.
The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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RINGWORK *
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A defensive bank and ditch, circular or oval in plan, surrounding one or more buildings.
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SITE *
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Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible.
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SETTLEMENT *
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A small concentration of dwellings.
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BUILDING *
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A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known.
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STONE *
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Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function.
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KEEP *
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The major tower of a fortification, often acting as its last defence.
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TOWER *
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A tall building, either round, square or polygonal in plan, used for a variety of purposes, including defence, as a landmark, for the hanging of bells, industrial functions, etc. Use more specific type where known.
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MARKET *
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An open space or covered building in which cattle, goods, etc, are displayed for sale.
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FORT *
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A permanently occupied position or building designed primarily for defence.
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FAIR *
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A site where a periodical gathering of buyers, sellers and entertainers, meet at a time ordained by charter or statute or by ancient custom.
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ARTIFICIAL MOUND *
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An artificial hill constructed in Tudor gardens, especially, to provide a good view.
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CASTLE *
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A fortress and dwelling, usually medieval in origin, and often consisting of a keep, curtain wall and towers etc.
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COURTYARD *
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An uncovered area, surrounded or partially surrounded by buildings.
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WELL *
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A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water.
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DEFENCE *
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This is the top term for the class. See DEFENCE Class List for narrow terms.
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MOTTE AND BAILEY *
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An early form of castle consisting of a flat-top steep-sided earthen mound, supporting a wooden tower, and a bailey.
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ENCLOSURE *
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An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known.
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MANOR *
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An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc.
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TRENCH *
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An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both.
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DITCH *
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A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year.
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VILL *
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Small discreet rural settlements which do not provide the commercial, legal or ecclesiastical services typically found within medieval urban areas.
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BAILEY *
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The courtyard of a castle, ie. the area enclosed by the rampart or curtain. Use with wider site type where known.
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OBSERVATION POST *
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A building or site for watching specific military activities or the movement of enemy forces, etc.
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MOUND *
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A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known.
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RINGWORK AND BAILEY *
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An enclosure within a bailey which contained a keep and sometimes took the place of a motte.
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CURTAIN WALL *
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A wall between two towers or pavilions, usually surrounding a building, and often forming a major part of the defences.
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WALL *
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An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known.
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EARTHWORK *
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A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification.
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MOTTE *
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An artificial steep-sided earthen mound on, or in, which is set the principal tower of a castle.
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* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)
