Medieval Archaeology 50

The author contends that, while the archaeological evidence for ritual activity in later prehistoric and Romano-British settlements is reasonably plentiful, there has been little discussion of such evidence from Anglo-Saxon settlements. The paper presents a preliminary survey of `special' deposits, primarily of humans and animals, within Anglo-Saxon settlements and considers what the composition, context and placement of such (presumably votive) deposits tells us about the nature of Anglo-Saxon ritual. This evidence is compared to that from Iron Age and Roman Britain, as well as continental northwest Europe. In particular, the relationship of special deposits to buildings, boundaries and entrances is considered.

The paper investigates the archaeology and history of `productive' sites, estate centres and towns between AD 600 and 1100 in northwestern East Anglia. Whilst it concentrates on a specific sub-region (northwest Norfolk), an argument is developed on the nature of the relationship between archaeological assemblages and administrative structures that can be applied more widely for this period. In particular, the nature of `productive' sites is discussed, and it is suggested that these places were centres of estate administration and tax collection. The later history of `productive' sites in western Norfolk is then examined, focusing on the effect that the Viking wars and subsequent (short-lived) Danish rule may have had on them. How this background may have affected the decision by Herbert de Losinga (first Bishop of Norwich) to site a priory, port and new town at Lynn is then explored.

A hoard of Late Saxon ornamental metalwork, comprising two matching sets of four strap-ends each and four fragments of an openwork silver disc, was discovered in the parish of Upper Poppleton, on the outskirts of York. Particular emphasis is laid on the date, function, manufacture and localisation of the strap-ends, which the author contends are amongst the most accomplished examples yet discovered of this class of Late Saxon ornamental metalwork. On the basis of close stylistic links drawn to other artistic media from the north of the Humber, it is argued that these strap-ends occupy a focal point in the definition of a ninth-century Northumbrian metalworking tradition embodying a regional version of the Trewhiddle style.

Excavation within the village of Thorney, Cambridgeshire, has revealed a sequence of occupation deposits associated with the former Benedictine abbey and reflecting some 600 years of use. Thorney Abbey was surrendered at the Dissolution of the Greater Monasteries in 1539 and over successive years many of the buildings were demolished and the stone removed for re-use elsewhere. As a consequence very little is known of the abbey's layout and organisation. In the Middle Ages Thorney was surrounded by fen wetland and the excavations reported on here were located near the northern edge of the former island, slightly to the north of the abbey church and suspected location of the main abbey precinct. The long sequence of deposits offered an insight into the changing character of fen-edge life on Thorney from the eleventh century onwards. Occupation remains and a sequence of contemporary structures indicated that despite the apparently peripheral location of the site in relation to the main abbey complex, life was rarely static on the island's northern edge. It is suggested that the structures and related remains were once part of the abbey's outer court. Dissolution deposits reflected the dismantling of windows and the salvage and recycling of lead came. A re-used architectural fragment, possibly a pillar base, had been converted into a lead recycling hearth and the immediately surrounding area was covered with the remains of the leadworking as well as a large assemblage of broken, high-quality painted window glass, the end result of the lead removal. Late-sixteenth-century structural evidence on the site has also shed light on some of the earliest secular occupation on the island following the Dissolution. A combination of the finds assemblages recovered during the work and documentary research has enabled a picture of life at medieval Thorney to be drawn for the first time. Documentary and cartographic work has also helped to understand the wider fenland context. Includes

Note on a copper-alloy, cruciform-shaped bridle fitting, decorated with a relief-cast zoomorphic design in Salin's Style I, found during fieldwalking at South Leckaway farm near Forfar, Angus, in 2003.

entries are numbered, and an index of features, artefacts etc. is included