|
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 |
|
Bronze Age
|
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.
more ->
|
| back |
|
|
Iron Age
|
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.
more ->
|
| 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 |
|
|
STONE *
|
Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function.
|
| 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 |
|
|
FEATURE *
|
Areas of indeterminate function.
|
| back |
|
|
FIELD *
|
An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock.
|
| back |
|
|
WOOD *
|
A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest.
|
| back |
|
|
BURIAL *
|
An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE for optimum retrieval in searches.
|
| 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 |
|
|
ROUND BARROW *
|
Hemispherical mound surrounded by a ditch (or occasionally two or more concentric ditches), often accompanied by an external (or occasionally internal) bank. Mound and ditch may sometimes be separated by a berm. Use specific type where known.
|
| back |
* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)
