| Abstract: |
Papers from a conference [Oxford, December 1978] at which all participants blended documentary and archaeological evidence. P A Rahtz (1-15) collects the evidence for milling, from the earliest dated European horizontal mills (Ireland and Tamworth) to the vertical-wheel types such as Batsford; an appendix on horizontal-wheel Cretan types is added. A necessary preliminary to the study of the medieval cloth industry is provided by M L Ryder's paper (16-28) on British medieval sheep and their wool types. D W Crossley (29-41) reviews the evidence for iron smelting, from the bloomery before the use of water power to the advent of the blast furnace; frequent reference is made to European material. The medieval smith and his methods is considered by R F Tylecote (42-50): smithing hearth, steel production, and edge tools are all included. I H Goodall (51-62) illustrates and discusses many of the products of the blacksmith while A R Goodall (63-71) does the same for the medieval bronzesmith - vessels, ornaments, etc. Lead mining and smelting in medieval England and Wales is I S W Blanchard's topic (72-84), covering the simple 'bole' technology of the 1170s, the 'turnbole' of late 14th, the 'blackwork' oven and the 'Durham system', with an appended note on the principal leadfields. The Devon tin industry has considerable archaeological potential, as T A P Greeves shows (85-95) giving a map of the deposits, a summary of the field evidence for tin workings and mills, and documentary evidence. Writing on the medieval pottery industry and its markets, S A Moorhouse (96-125) shows what can be learnt of the location and structure of production sites and workshops, the potter's equipment and methods, factors affecting distribution, and the uses to which ceramics were put as shown in contemporary sources. P J Drury's topic (126-42) is the production of brick and tile, from Coggeshall Abbey (mid-12th century) and the Flemish imports onwards: floor and roof tiles, the organization of production and distribution, raw matrials and techniques, all with special reference to Essex. J R Hunter (143-50) on the medieval glass industry describes early methods of production and the Wealden industry to 1572. Finally, D J Keene (151-3) offers concluding thoughts on how the scope of the subject should be defined, the evidence handled, and future directions plotted. |
