|
Scheduled Monument
|
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.
|
| back |
|
OS Card
|
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.
|
| back |
|
|
SMR Card
|
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.
|
| 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 |
|
POOL *
|
A small body of water, either natural or artificial.
|
| back |
|
|
SITE *
|
Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible.
|
| back |
|
|
WINDMILL *
|
A tower-like structure of wood or brick with a wooden cap and sails which are driven around by the wind producing power to work the internal machinery. Use with product type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
MILL *
|
A factory used for processing raw materials. Use more specific mill type where known. See also TEXTILE MILL, for more narrow terms.
|
| back |
|
|
ABBEY *
|
A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY.
|
| back |
|
|
CASTLE *
|
A fortress and dwelling, usually medieval in origin, and often consisting of a keep, curtain wall and towers etc.
|
| back |
|
|
WINDMILL MOUND *
|
An artificial mound of earth indicating either the former site of a windmill or built as the base of a post windmill.
|
| back |
|
|
STREAM *
|
A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source.
|
| back |
|
|
MOUND *
|
A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
EARTHWORK *
|
A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification.
|
| back |
* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)
