The archaeology of Lincoln Volume 17 Part 2.

The archaeology of Lincoln, Volume 14 Part 1.

Rosemary Cramp's influence on the archaeology of early Medieval Britain is nowhere more apparent than in these essays in her honor by her former students. Monastic sites, Lindisfarne and Whithorn, are the inspiration for Deirdre O'Sullivan's and Peter Hill's papers; Chris Loveluck discusses the implications of the findings from the newly-discovered settlement at Flixborough in Lincolnshire; Nancy Edwards describes the early monumental sculpture from St David's in South Wales; Martin Carver reviews the politics of monumental sculpture and monumentality; and Catherine Hills reassesses the significance of imported ivory found in graves. Richard Bailey, Christopher Morris and Derek Craig top and tail the book with tributes to Rosemary Cramp and a bibliography of her work.

This volume contains reports on excavations undertaken in the lower walled city at Lincoln, which lies on sloping ground on the northern scarp of the Witham gap, and its adjacent suburbs between 1972 and 1987, and forms a companion volume to LAS volumes 2 and 3 which cover other parts of the historic city. The earliest features encountered were discovered both near to the line of Ermine Street and towards Broadgate. Remains of timber storage buildings were found, probably associated with the Roman legionary occupation in the later 1st century AD. The earliest occupation of the hillside after the foundation of the colonia towards the end of the century consisted mainly of commercial premises, modest residences, and storage buildings. It seems likely that the boundary of the lower enclosure was designated before it was fortified in the later 2nd century with the street pattern belonging to the earlier part of the century. Larger aristocratic residences came to dominate the hillside with public facilities fronting on to the line of the zigzagging main route. In the 4th century, the fortifications were enlarged and two new gates inserted. Examples of so-called ‘Dark Earth’ deposits were here dated to the very latest phases of Roman occupation. Elements of some Roman structures survived to be reused in subsequent centuries. There are hints of one focus in the Middle Saxon period, in the area of St. Peter’s church, but occupation of an urban nature did not recommence until the late 9th century with the first phases of Anglo-Scandinavian occupation recorded here. Sequences of increasingly intensive occupation from the 10th century were identified, with plentiful evidence for industrial activity, including pottery, metalworking and other, crafts, as well as parish churches. Markets were established in the 11th century and stone began to replace timber for residential structures from the mid-12th century with clear evidence of the quality of some of the houses. With the decline in the city’s fortunes from the late 13th century, the fringe sites became depopulated and there was much rebuilding elsewhere, including some fine new houses. There was a further revival in the later post-medieval period, but much of the earlier fabric, and surviving stretches of Roman city wall, were swept away in the 19th century.

The Archaeology of the 11th Century explores this formative period of English history and in particular the impact of the Conquest of England by the Normans. The volume examines how the Normans contributed to local culture, religion and society through a range of topics including food culture, funerary practices, the development of castles and their impact, and how both urban and rural life evolved during the eleventh century. Through its nuanced approach to the complex relationships and regional identities which characterized the period, this collection stimulates renewed debate and challenges some of the long-standing myths surrounding the Conquest.

Everyday Life in Medieval England captures the day-to-day experience of people in the middle ages - the houses and settlements in which they lived, the food they ate, their getting and spending - and their social relationships. The picture that emerges is of great variety, of constant change, of movement and of enterprise. Many people were downtrodden and miserably poor, but they struggled against their circumstances, resisting oppressive authorities, to build their own way of life and to improve their material conditions. The ordinary men and women of the middle ages appear throughout. Everyday life in Medieval England is an outstanding contribution to both national and local history.