Medieval Settlement Research 25

Early medieval (5th- to 11th-century) settlement sites are extremely rare in Wales, particularly in comparison to England and Ireland. The lack of sites is confounded by a bias within the existing dataset towards what appear to have been high-status defended settlements of the late 5th to 7th centuries such as Dinas Powys (Glamorgan), Coygan Camp (Carmarthenshire) and Dinas Emrys (Gwynedd). Current understanding of site types, morphology, settlement patterns and hierarchies is therefore very superficial. In this paper the author explores one possible way of addressing the problem by constructing a predictive model, using an area of twenty parishes in the eastern part of the Vale of Glamorgan corresponding roughly to the Dinas Powys hundred as a case study. By mapping the distribution of Romano-British and medieval settlement evidence in relation to landscape characteristics which are likely to have structured the nature of agricultural practices it was possible to divide the study area into zones reflecting past settlement intensity, and to identify which would be the most profitable areas for survey and targeted trial excavation aimed at identifying early medieval settlements. Large numbers of settlements of all periods are likely to be discovered through fieldwork in these zones, a problem compounded by the lack of a widespread diagnostic early medieval material culture to assist in the identification of sites. Thus the validity of areas identified as having high potential for early medieval settlement can only be tested through the implementation of large-scale survey methods such as fieldwalking and geophysical survey in conjunction with techniques which can identify ephemeral settlement evidence, such as metal detector survey and trial excavation with regular radiocarbon dating. The model may also have further applications in the examination of patterns of land-use.

The surviving examples of major English medieval bridges and their associated buildings are a tiny remnant of a much larger group. The authors of this article set out to establish how many such bridges possessed chapels, fortifications or other buildings such as houses or shops, and how many examples survive. The article discusses the categories in turn, giving examples of documented and surviving bridges, and sites with excavated evidence. Although definitive conclusions cannot be reached at present concerning precise numbers and distribution, it is clear that more medieval bridges possessed structures and more fortified bridges existed than was previously realised; additional examples of the latter are likely to be identified, especially near the Welsh and Scottish borders. Further work is needed in order to compile a comprehensive catalogue of structures on bridges, and to analyse the functions of chapels and fortifications. LD

A number of medieval monastic grange sites within the North York Moors National Park have been targeted for re-assessment as part of a National Mapping Programme project, undertaken by Archaeological Research Services Ltd in partnership with English Heritage and the North York Moors National Park Authority. Aerial photographic analysis and mapping has also provided enhanced knowledge of a potential additional grange located at Cold Cam Farm, Oldstead, details of which are presented in this short article. Historic aerial photographs have provided access to elements of the probable grange that are now destroyed or obscured by modern activity. As a case study, the site demonstrates the efficacy of aerial photograph mapping for conservation and management of the historic environment. However, although the morphology of the site suggests both medieval and post-medieval use, neither the air photographic record nor historic Ordnance Survey mapping reveals any indication of the nature of the post-Dissolution use of the site before 1856. Further nonintrusive investigation of the surviving earthworks as well as the below-ground remains, in addition to full documentary research, would therefore be beneficial. LD

The South Oxfordshire Project is a historical and archaeological investigation of how people in south Oxfordshire perceived their environment and landscape from the early Middle Ages to the 17th century (c.500--1650). The first phase of the project (April 2011--12) is being run by Oxford University History Faculty and the Victoria County History (VCH) of Oxfordshire, and is funded by the Oxford University Press John Fell fund. Further funding is being sought to extend this to a four-year research programme. The study area, which is being researched at the same time by the VCH, covers over 10,000 hectares and comprises the ancient parishes of Ewelme hundred. This short article gives an overview of the approach that will be taken by the project, lists some of the specific themes and issues that are to be addressed, and outlines why South Oxfordshire provides an excellent focal point for an investigation such as this. LD

Short obituary for Keith Allison, who was one of the pioneers of research on deserted villages in the period following the Second World War and had a long involvement with the excavations at Wharram Percy. In his professional life, Keith was for thirty years editor of the East Riding of the Victoria History of the County of York, bringing out the first six of the county volumes. LD