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Scheduled Monument
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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.
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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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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.
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Trial Trench
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A small regular hole that is usually square or rectangular in shape. Archaeologists dig trial trenches to discover if there are any archaeological remains at a particular location. See also excavation.
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Neolithic
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About 4000 BC to 2351 BC
The word ‘Neolithic’ means ‘New Stone Age’. Archaeologists split up the Neolithic period into three phases; early, middle and late. The Neolithic period comes after the Mesolithic period and before the Bronze Age.
People in the Neolithic period hunted and gathered food as their ancestors had but they were also began to farm. They kept animals and grew crops. This meant that they were able to settle more permanently in one location instead of constantly moving from place to place to look for food.
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Bronze Age
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About 2500 BC to 700 BC
The Bronze Age comes after the Neolithic period and before the Iron Age.
The day to day life of people in the Bronze Age probably changed little from how their ancestors had lived during the Neolithic period. They still lived in farmsteads, growing crops and rearing animals.
During the Bronze Age people discovered how to use bronze, an alloy of tin and copper (hence the name that has given to this era). They used it to make their tools and other objects, although they continued to use flint and a range of organic materials as well. A range of bronze axes, palstaves and spears has been found in Warwickshire.
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Iron Age
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About 800 BC to 43 AD
The Iron Age comes after the Bronze Age and before the Roman period. It is a time when people developed the skills and knowledge to work and use iron, hence the name ‘Iron Age’ which is given to this period. Iron is a much tougher and more durable metal than bronze but it also requires more skill to make objects from it. People continued to use bronze during this period.
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BARROW *
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Artificial mound of earth, turf and/or stone, normally constructed to contain or conceal burials. Use specific type where known.
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CREMATION *
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A funeral rite in which the human body is burnt, usually on a pyre, leaving fragmentary charred or completely combusted remains. Often found buried, occasionally in a container associated with grave goods.
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ROUND CAIRN *
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A roughly hemispherical mound constructed primarily of stones, normally containing or covering one or more human burials. The mound may be surrounded and partly retained by a low stone kerb.
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HOLLOW *
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A hollow, concave formation or place, which has sometimes been dug out.
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SITE *
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Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible.
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FUNERAL PYRE *
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A structure consisting of combustible material, typically wood, on which a body is placed and then cremated, sometimes with accompanying grave goods. Use only when evidence of structure exists.
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CAIRN *
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A monument featuring a bank or mound constructed primarily of stone. Use specific type where known.
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LONG MOUND *
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A long, narrow mound of earth or stone and of uncertain date and function. Use more appropriate term where possible.
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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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LONG BARROW *
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A rectangular or trapezoidal earthen mound of Neolithic date, usually accompanied by flanking or encircling ditches, and normally associated with human remains. Mound construction and associated features vary considerably in type and complexity.
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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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EARTHWORK *
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A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification.
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CIST *
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Generally rectangular structure normally used for burial purposes, and formed from stone slabs set on edge, and covered by one or more horizontal slabs or capstones. Cists may be built on the surface or sunk into the ground.
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* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)
