Archaeology in Britain Since 1945: New Directions

252 Pages·1986·69.21 MB·English

by  Ian H. Longworth

ARCHAEOLOGY IN
BRI TAI N
♦SINCE 1945-
EDITED BY IAN LONGWORTH AND JOHN CHERRY

ARCHAEOLOGY IN
BRITAIN
SINCE 1945

ARCHAEOLOGY IN
BRITAIN
SINCE 1945
NEW DIRECTIONS
EDITED BY IAN LONGWORTH AND JOHN CHERRY
with contributions by
NICK ASHTON, JOHN CHERRY, JOHN HURST,
IAN LONGWORTH, TIMOTHY POTTER,
VALERY RIGBY, LESLIE WEBSTER
with line illustrations by
SIMON JAMES
Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by
British Museum Publications
( i 986 The Trustees of the British Museum Frontispiece
Lindow Man. found in 1984 in a Cheshire
Published by British Museum Publications
bog by a peat-cutting machine, which
46 Bloomsbury Street. London wcib
sliced him through the waist and destroyed
much of the lower half of his body. Naked
Designed by Harry Green
but for a fur arm-band, he had been felled
Set in Monophoto Photina and printed in Great Britain by blows on the head, garrotted and had
by Jolly & Barber Ltd. Rugby had his throat cut before being dumped in
a shallow pool in the bog. This was no
ordinary death, and the bog was not a
normal burial ground: it seems likely that
Lindow Man was the victim of a ritual
sacrifice, c. 300 bc.
Contents
Photographic acknowledgements 6
Foreword 7
by the Director of the British Museum,
Sir David Wilson
The Contributors 9
Acknowledgements 9
Introduction 10
1 Prehistoric Britain 13
Ian Long worth, Nick Ashton, Valerie Rigby
2 A Roman Province: Britain ad 43-410
by Timothy Potter
3 Anglo-Saxon England ad 400-1100
by Leslie Webster
4 Technology, Towns, Castles and
Churches ad i 100 1600 1 61
by John Cherry
5 The Medieval Countryside 197
by John Hurst
Glossary 237
Bibliography 239
Index 24b
Photographic acknowledgements
The photographs were acquired from the individuals and Hunterian Museum. University of Glasgow 51
institutions listed below. The authors and publishers Medieval Village Research Group 118. 119. 122. 129
would like to thank the copyright holders for permission to R.G. Mercer 6
reproduce them. John Mills Photography Ltd 102
National Monuments Record 70
Ashmolean Museum. Oxford 107 Norfolk Archaeological Unit 66 (photo D. Wicks). 97
Grenville Astill 85 (photo D.A. Edwards)
H. Atkinson FRPS 88 Pilkington Bros Ltd 81
R.N.E. Barton 3 Dr F. Pryor 12. 13
British Library. London 105 (Cotton MS Augustus 1.20.21) P.A. Rahtz 68
British Museum 4 (courtesy of R.N.E. Barton, who provided Dr A. Ritchie 20
the material). 1 1. 15-17. 2 3. 24. 34. 37- 39. 42. 4 3. Royal Archaeological Institute 71-3 (drawings by Simon
45.48. 5<>. 58. 59-6.3 James)
Buckinghamshire Record Office 126 Society of Antiquaries of London 109
Cambridge University Collection of Air Photographs Sutton Hoo Research Trust 69 (photo Nigel Macbeth)
(Copyright reserved) 46. 54, 9 3. 11 7. 1 30. 1 3 3 University of Southampton. Department of Archaeology
Carlisle Archaeological Unit 47 114
Professor J.M. Coles 7 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council 99a
Crown copyright reserved 70 (photo J.K. St Joseph). 100. York Archaeological Trust 76
1 1 1
The front cover illustration is reproduced by courtesy of
Professor Barry Cunliffe 62
Colin and Janet Bord.
Durham University. Department of Archaeology 82
English Heritage 40 The line drawings are by Simon James, with the exception
A. Fleming 26 of 87. 1 1 2a and b (by Jim Farrant) and 79 (by Karen
Giraudon 96 (by permission of the town of Bayeux) Hughes).
6
Foreword
Towards the end of the Second World War an ad hoc meeting of some
280 archaeologists held at the Institute of Archaeology drew up a plan
for the future of the subject in Britain. Many of the scholars were young,
all were enthusiastic and in many ways far-seeing, but their greatest
aspirations have been far exceeded by the energy and opportunities
which have transformed our knowledge of Britain’s past since the end
of the War. Technical innovations, particularly in co-operation with
natural scientists, have introduced methods of dating and analysis - of
which the most dramatic is undoubtedly the radiocarbon technique.
These methods allow the dating of prehistoric periods within narrow
margins and have revolutionised, not only our knowledge, but also our
understanding of the past. Improved techniques of prospecting and
excavation have enabled scholars to reveal the past with greater con­
fidence and greater clarity. Town excavation, the examination of vast
areas by total excavation, a willingness to use archaeological techniques
on historical sites, a responsible attitude to publication and a greater
public awareness of the potential of the past have widened and illuminated
our vision of this country’s history.
Resources - although never enough - have been made more freely
available, particularly as the result of the crusading zeal of the founders
of the Rescue movement. There has been an explosion in the number of
students and in the production of trained archaeologists. There were
three - perhaps four university departments concerned with British
archaeology in 1950. Only two (Cambridge and Edinburgh) produced
first degree graduates in the subject; now there are over twenty depart­
ments. Government money for rescue archaeology has increased by
leaps and bounds from £400,000 in 1970 to 15.7m in 1986-7.
Research excavation is more selective and better funded and co-operation
with natural scientists is now a sine qua non of any archaeological
project, from initial survey to final analysis of finds and of soils.
This book portrays some of the developments of the last forty years. It
is based on the work of scholars throughout the country and. although
published by the British Museum, is a celebration of a national achieve­
ment in the understanding of the past. Its contents draw on the work,
knowledge and expertise of a large number of scholars from universities
and museums, from the private sector and official bodies. The Museum
/
FOREWORD
is grateful for their co-operation, not least that of John Hurst, who has
contributed to the text itself. In 1932 two members of the staff of the
British Museum wrote a similar survey, Archaeology in England and
Wales 1914- 1931; to measure the achievement of archaeologists over
the last half century compare Tom Kendrick’s and Christopher Hawkes’s
work of 1932 with that presented here.
We show here only a segment of British archaeological endeavour.
British archaeologists are active throughout the world, from Thailand
to Belize. Archaeologists trained in Britain are to be met with in many
countries at all levels of seniority. There influence is, however, based
almost in its entirety on training in excavation and museum activity at
home. This book is not then merely a chauvinistic celebration of
past achievements, it is a portrait of one aspect of the work of the
archaeological community of this country.
D.M. Wii son
April 1986
S