|
MVRG
|
Reports of the Medieval Village Research Group, (now known as the Medieval Settlement Research Group) comprising reports about research and field work carried out throughout Britain. The report is published once each year. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record.
|
| back |
|
|
TBAS
|
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.
|
| back |
|
|
WMA
|
West Midlands Archaeology. This publication contains a short description for each of the sites where archaeological work has taken place in the previous year. It covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some of these descriptions include photographs, plans and drawings of the sites and/or the finds that have been discovered. The publication is produced by the Council For British Archaeology (CBA) West Midlands and is published annually. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record.
|
| back |
|
Documentary Evidence
|
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.
|
| back |
|
|
Field Survey
|
The term ‘field survey’ is used to describe all work that does not disturb archaeological deposits below the ground through an excavation. Field survey techniques involve recording measurements that help archaeologists draw plans or diagrams of archaeological features. There are a variety of different field survey techniques, including geophysical survey, building recording survey, field walking survey, landscape survey and earthwork survey.
|
| back |
|
|
Earthwork
|
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.
|
| back |
|
|
Aerial Photograph
|
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.
|
| back |
|
Medieval
|
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.
more ->
|
| back |
|
DOVECOTE *
|
A building, or part of a building, used to house doves and pigeons, usually placed at a height above the ground, with openings and provision inside for roosting and breeding.
|
| back |
|
|
LAYER *
|
An archaeological unit of soil in a horizontal plane which may seal features or be cut through by other features.
|
| back |
|
|
VILLAGE *
|
A collection of dwelling-houses and other buildings, usually larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a simpler organisation and administration than the latter.
|
| back |
|
|
SITE *
|
Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible.
|
| back |
|
|
COFFIN *
|
A chest made of stone, wood or lead, used to enclose a dead body.
|
| back |
|
|
BUILDING *
|
A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
RIDGE AND FURROW *
|
A series of long, raised ridges separated by ditches used to prepare the ground for arable cultivation. This was a technique, characteristic of the medieval period.
|
| back |
|
|
STONE *
|
Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function.
|
| back |
|
|
MANOR HOUSE *
|
The principal house of a manor or village.
|
| back |
|
|
BOUNDARY *
|
The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
FEATURE *
|
Areas of indeterminate function.
|
| back |
|
|
DESERTED SETTLEMENT *
|
An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs.
|
| back |
|
|
LINEAR FEATURE *
|
A length of straight, curved or angled earthwork or cropmark of uncertain date or function.
|
| back |
|
|
WELL *
|
A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water.
|
| back |
|
|
FIELD *
|
An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock.
|
| back |
|
|
ENCLOSURE *
|
An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
MANOR *
|
An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc.
|
| back |
|
|
CHAPEL *
|
A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
HOUSE PLATFORM *
|
An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house.
|
| back |
|
|
WATER MEADOW *
|
Grassland fertilized by allowing floodwater to cover it in winter.
|
| back |
|
|
FARM *
|
A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
SUBRECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE *
|
A monument consisting of an area enclosed by a ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier, where the barrier follows an almost rectangular course.
|
| back |
|
|
WALL *
|
An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
TEMPLE *
|
Use for places of worship. For later landscape features use, eg. GARDEN TEMPLE.
|
| back |
|
|
EARTHWORK *
|
A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification.
|
| back |
|
|
HOLLOW WAY *
|
A way, path or road through a cutting.
|
| back |
* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)
