Eckweek, Peasedown-St-John, Somerset: Survey and Excavations at a Shrunken Medieval Hamlet 1988-1990

Description

"This volume presents the results of archaeological survey and excavation at Eckweek, Somerset, which yielded one of the most important medieval rural settlement sequences yet excavated from south-west England. At the centre of the narrative is a succession of well-preserved buildings spanning the late 10th to the 14th centuries A.D. forming the nucleus of a Domesday manor and its Late Saxon precursor. Detailed analysis of the structural sequence offers a new regional perspective on pre-Conquest earthfast timber architecture and its subsequent (12th-century) replacement by masonry traditions. Culminating in a richly preserved 14th-century farmhouse, including a very complete assemblage of structural and domestic objects, the structural archaeology provides an unusually refined picture of the internal organisation of later medieval domestic space within a rural farming setting. Detailed analytical attention is given to the abundant artefactual and environmental datasets recovered from the excavations (including prolific assemblages of medieval pottery and palaeonvironmental data) with a nuanced appraisal of their interpretative implications. Anyone with an interest in the dynamics and regional complexity of medieval rural communities will find this a stimulating and enlightening read."-- Cover Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Summaries (English/French/German/Spanish) Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1: Background to the project 1.2: Geology, topography and land use Chapter 2: Documentary and Archaeological Background 2.1: Documentary, archaeological and landscape evidence (by Dr Nick Corcos, 2013) 2.2: The placename Eckweek (by Dr Michael Costen) 2.3: Eckweek in Domesday Book (by Dr Frank Thorn) Chapter 3: Surveys 3.1: Preliminary surveys 3.2: Geophysical survey (by Andrew Payne of Historic England, 1989, updated 2015) Chapter 4: Excavations 4.1: Excavation areas and methodologies 4.2: Summary of structural phasing 4.3: The excavated evidence 4.4: Watching brief Chapter 5: Artefacts and Environmental Evidence 5.1: Prehistoric ceramics – pottery, briquetage and a bronze-working crucible (by Dr Elaine Morris, 1992, updated 2015) 5.2: Romano-British pottery (by Dr Jane Timby, 2015) 5.3: The late Saxon, Saxo-Norman, medieval and post-medieval pottery (by Andrew Young and Alexander Kidd, 1990–1991, updated 2015) 5.3.1 The petrology of medieval pottery (by D F Williams PhD FSA – Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, 1991) 5.4: Coins (by Sarah Newns, 2015) 5.5: Iron and lead objects (by Ann Thompson, 1991) 5.6: Copper alloy objects (by Sarah Newns, 2015) 5.7: Flint (by Vince Russett, 1991) 5.8: Worked stone objects (by Alexander Kidd and Andrew Young, 1991) 5.8.1 The petrology of medieval whetstones of sandstone from Eckweek (by Professor Gilbert Kelling – Department of Geology, University of Keele, 1991) 5.9: Clay tobacco pipe (by Sarah Newns, 2014) 5.10: The composition of a group of later medieval copper alloy ‘ingots’ and other objects (by Nigel Blades, 1991) 5.11: Worked bone objects (by Sarah Newns, 2015) 5.12: The jet bead SF627 (by Sarah Newns, 2015) 5.13: Faunal remains (by Dr Simon Davis, 1992, updated 2015) 5.14: Charred plant remains (by Wendy Carruthers, 1995, updated 2015) 5.15: Molluscs (by Dr Matthew Law, 2014) Chapter 6: Independent Dating 6.1: Radiocarbon dating (Queens University Belfast, 1991, reviewed and updated by Dr Peter Marshall, 2015) 6.2: Comment on the 1991 radiocarbon dates (by Andrew Young, 1991, revised 2015) Chapter 7: Reconstructing Late Saxon and Medieval Eckweek (2015) 7.1: The medieval buildings and structures 7.2: Artefacts: the character and distribution of Late Saxon and medieval finds 7.3: Artefactual evidence for settlement development – continuity and change 7.4: Artefacts and ecofacts – general conclusions 7.5: The agricultural and domestic economy Chapter 8: Synthesis 8.1: Prehistoric activity 8.2: Late Saxon and medieval settlement Bibliography Index