Medieval Archaeology 38

The paper describes the discovery of a number of medieval wooden fish traps and their associated fish baskets, found in a small area of the Severn Estuary. It compares the archaeological with the documentary evidence to reveal a continuing tradition dating back to at least the tenth century. Includes specialist reports on

Three burgage plots within a deserted area of the medieval new town of Newport were excavated. Buildings were established on the burgage plots following the town's foundation in the late-twelfth century, but these were short-lived and the plots were soon given over to agriculture. Evidence for buildings was slight. It is argued that the excavated dwellings were earth-built and thatched and possibly conformed to a standard plan. Boundaries between individual burgage plots and between blocks of plots were investigated, thus examining the means by which the town was laid out. Includes specialist reports on

The remains of Caergwrle Castle in east Clwyd stand on a hill dominating the modern village of Caergwrle immediately to the north. The castle is a border fortification about half-way between Mold and Wrexham. The excavations concentrated on the investigation of all the post-medieval and medieval deposits within the masonry walls of the castle, and those within its three surviving towers. A limited investigation was conducted on the defences of the castle, and on a potentially defensive outer embankment which encloses most of the hill-top. Specialist reports include

Description of a perforated chalk object incised with a representation of a boat on one surface and probably used as a weight, found during field collection in 1989 near the Anglian site at Cottam on the Yorkshire Wolds.

Description of two copper alloy objects, both consisting of collars with open-work bodies, one recovered from the bed of an ornamental lake in the grounds of Walton Hall, Wellesbourne and the other discovered adjacent to Wixford church. The author suggests that they may have had a liturgical use as staff or sceptre terminals, and are possibly dated to the eleventh or twelfth centuries.

Report of recent work carried out at the rural medieval site of Cayton, North Yorkshire, using combined geophysical (magnetometer and earth resistance) and topographical survey. The survey covered five selected areas, including the location identified by Colin Platt as the location of a monastic grange belonging to Fountains Abbey, and that of a second 'house-platform' overlooking Cayton Hill.