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Domesday Book
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The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. It contains records for about 13,000 medieval settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time). The Domesday Book is a detailed record of the lands and their resources that belonged to the king. It also records the identity of the landholders and their tenants.
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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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WMA
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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.
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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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Cropmark
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Cropmarks appear as light and dark marks in growing and ripening crops. These marks relate to differences in the soil below. For example, parched lines of grass may indicate stone walls. Crops that grow over stone features often ripen more quickly and are shorter than the surrounding crop. This is because there is less moisture in the soil where the wall lies.
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excavation
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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 ->
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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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Modern
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The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)
In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related. more ->
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Medieval
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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 ->
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Post Medieval
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About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)
The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.
This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836). more ->
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modern
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About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)
In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related. more ->
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HOUSE *
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A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known.
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VILLAGE *
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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.
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SITE *
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Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible.
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HAMLET *
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Small settlement with no ecclesiastical or lay administrative function.
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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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RIDGE AND FURROW *
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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.
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STONE *
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Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function.
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FEATURE *
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Areas of indeterminate function.
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GARDEN FEATURE *
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Unspecified landscape feature. Use more specific type where known.
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RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE *
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A rectangular shaped area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier.
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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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CROSSROADS *
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A road junction where two (or occasionally more) roads cross each other.
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ROAD *
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A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles.
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DESERTED SETTLEMENT *
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An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs.
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FIELD *
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An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock.
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FIELD SYSTEM *
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A group or complex of fields which appear to form a coherent whole. Use more specific type where known.
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PLATFORM *
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Unspecified. Use specific type where known.
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ENCLOSURE *
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An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known.
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TRENCH *
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An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both.
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DITCH *
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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.
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HIDE *
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A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters.
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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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STRUCTURE *
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A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type.
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BARN *
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A building for the storage and processing of grain crops and for housing straw, farm equipment and occasionally livestock and their fodder. Use more specific type where known.
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MEADOW *
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A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay.
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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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FARM *
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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.
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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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HOLLOW WAY *
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A way, path or road through a cutting.
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* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)