|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
FISHPOND *
|
A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish.
|
| 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 |
|
|
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 |
|
|
POND *
|
A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known.
|
| back |
|
|
ABBEY *
|
A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY.
|
| back |
|
|
POND BAY *
|
Form of dam, usually associated with ponds supplying water for blast furnaces.
|
| back |
|
|
MONASTERY *
|
Houses specifically of monks, canons or religious men but not friars.
|
| back |
|
|
STREAM *
|
A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source.
|
| back |
|
|
EARTHWORK *
|
A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification.
|
| back |
|
|
DAM *
|
A barrier of concrete or earth, etc, built across a river to create a reservoir of water for domestic and/or industrial usage.
|
| back |
* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)
