Medieval Settlement Research 35

Editorial, contents and announcements

The research priorities of the MSRG for 2020 to 2030

Between 2005 and 2018, a programme of test pit excavation has focussed on excavating and analysing new archaeological data in order to reconstruct the development of currently occupied rural settlements (CORS). The outcomes from each parish were reviewed briefly year-by-year in interim reports in MSR, and this paper presents an overview of all the results. 

This article introduces ongoing PhD research aiming at improved understanding of early medieval (5th- and 6th-century) settlements in the south-eastern part of Central Europe through the perspective of ‘household archaeology’. Based on the spatial structure and the material culture of the settlement at the Berettyóújfalu site (Hungary), which serves as a case study, this research aims to gain insights into the social dynamics – competition, strategies of survival, decision making of households, maintenance of family – of the early medieval community which inhabited the site. To approach this question, I review the historical background of the territory and gather information about the natural environment and characteristics of 5th- and 6th-century settlements. The archaeological investigation will include both quantitative and qualitative analysis of artefacts and features and the analysis of their distribution. As complementary information, I am also examining written sources to form an idea about early medieval households and their occupants.

A summary of the CARE project 2019, a new European project of test pit excavations in currently occupied rural settlements spanning the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland and the UK.

Book reviews relevant to medieval settlement and landscape

Annual report and overview of finances