|
Antiquity
|
Antiquity is a journal about archaeological research and is published four times each year. The journal includes articles about archaeology from all over the world, from the Palaeolithic to the present. Each issue includes an editorial, brief reports, current news in colour, research papers and notes, full review coverage of new archaeological books and occasional special sections on selected topics.
|
| 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 |
|
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 |
|
|
excavation
|
Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.
Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
more ->
|
| back |
|
Prehistoric
|
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.
more ->
|
| 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 |
|
YARD *
|
A paved area, generally found at the back of a house.
|
| back |
|
|
BARROW *
|
Artificial mound of earth, turf and/or stone, normally constructed to contain or conceal burials. Use specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
SITE *
|
Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible.
|
| back |
|
|
SCHOOL *
|
An establishment in which people, usually children, are taught.
|
| back |
|
|
HAMLET *
|
Small settlement with no ecclesiastical or lay administrative function.
|
| back |
|
|
BUILDING *
|
A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
PARK *
|
An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
FEATURE *
|
Areas of indeterminate function.
|
| back |
|
|
CHURCH *
|
A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
RAMPART *
|
A protective earthen mound, often the main defence of a fortification.
|
| back |
|
|
ROAD *
|
A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles.
|
| 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 |
|
|
LINEAR EARTHWORK *
|
A substantial bank and ditch forming a major boundary between two adjacent landholdings. Most date from the late Bronze Age and Iron Age.
|
| back |
|
|
CHURCHYARD *
|
An area of ground belonging to a church, often used as a burial ground.
|
| back |
|
|
DITCH *
|
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.
|
| 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 |
|
|
ROW *
|
A row of buildings built during different periods, as opposed to a TERRACE.
|
| back |
|
|
OPPIDUM *
|
An imprecise term used to describe large Iron Age settlements of town-like proportions.
|
| back |
|
|
EARTHWORK *
|
A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification.
|
| back |
|
|
TERRACE *
|
A row of houses attached to and adjoining one another and planned and built as one unit.
|
| back |
* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)
