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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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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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Aerial Photograph
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Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical.
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BARROW *
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Artificial mound of earth, turf and/or stone, normally constructed to contain or conceal burials. Use specific type where known.
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SITE *
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Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible.
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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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MANOR HOUSE *
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The principal house of a manor or village.
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FEATURE *
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Areas of indeterminate function.
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CHURCH *
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A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known.
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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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BUILDING PLATFORM *
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A site where a building once stood as identified by a level area of ground, often compacted or made from man-made materials. Use only where specific function is unknown, otherwise use more specific term.
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PLATFORM *
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Unspecified. Use specific type where known.
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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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SQUARE *
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An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees.
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GARDEN *
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An enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables and/or recreational purposes. Use more specific type where known.
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HOUSE PLATFORM *
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An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house.
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MARSH *
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A low lying area of land that is usually waterlogged at all times and is flooded in wet weather.
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PROSPECT MOUND *
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An artificial mound, generally conical, placed within a garden or park to provide a viewing point to overlook the garden or park. It may also serve as a visual focus in the garden or park layout.
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ROUND *
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A small, Iron Age/Romano-British enclosed settlement found in South West England.
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STREAM *
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A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source.
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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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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)