Information for record number MWA6132:
Early Medieval Settlement 200m N of Bidford Bridge

Summary The site of an Early Medieval settlement. Excavation has uncovered features and finds associated with occupation, including post holes, ditches, pits and enclosures. It is 150m north east of Bidford Bridge.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Ditch, Post Hole, Pit, Enclosure
Period: Early medieval (801 AD - 1065 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Bidford on Avon
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 09 51
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Occupation features found close to the site of the pagan Saxon cemetery. A number of parallel slots suggested animal pens, these had been cut by a curving ditch containing wattle-and-daub, several fragments of rotary quern and a decorated bone knife handle. Further W were other ditches and post holes indicating timber structures and these produced Saxon pottery.
2 A complex of ditches, pits and post holes, sealed by a thick (medieval?) plough soil, were revealed by excavation. A Late Saxon pit on NE of the site contained burnt material, a bun-shaped loomweight, a scythe blade, a spearhead and ferrule, a possible barrel padlock and piece of quern. This is probably destruction debris from a late Saxon timber building. No medieval features and area almost certainly part of the open field.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Medieval Archaeology: Medieval Britain in 1979
Author/originator: L E Webster and J Cherry
Date: 1980
Page Number: 218-264
Volume/Sheet: 24
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMANS no 14 1971
Author/originator: Ford W
Date: 1971
Page Number: 21
Volume/Sheet: 14
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source WMANS West Midlands Archaeological News Sheet, a publication that was produced each year, this later became West Midlands Archaeology. The West Midlands Arcaheological News Sheet contains reports about archaeological work that was carried out in the West Midlands region in the previous year. It includes information about sites dating from the Prehistoric to the Post Medieval periods. It was produced the Department of Extramural Studies at Birmingham University. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique 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.
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period 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.
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monument OPEN FIELD * An area of arable land with common rights after harvest or while fallow. Usually without internal divisions (hedges, walls or fences). back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument PEN * A small enclosure for cattle, sheep, swine, poultry, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument CEMETERY * An area of ground, set apart for the burial of the dead. back
monument 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
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument POST HOLE * A hole dug to provide a firm base for an upright post, often with stone packing. Use broader monument type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record