The two volumes of 'The Archaeology of Medieval Europe' will together comprise the first complete account of medieval archaeology across Europe. Archaeologists from academic institutions in fifteen countries are collaborating to produce these two books of sixteen thematic chapters each. In addition, every chapter will feature a number of 'box-texts', by specialist contributors, highlighting sites or themes of particular importance. The books will be comprehensively illustrated throughout, in both colour and b/w, including line drawings and specially commissioned maps. This ground-breaking set, which is divided chronologically into two (Volume 1 extending from the 8th-12th centuries AD, and Volume 2 from the 12th-16th centuries -- available 2008), will enable readers to track the development of different cultures, and of regional characteristics, throughout the full extent of medieval Catholic Europe. In addition to revealing shared contexts and technological developments, the complete work will also provide the opportunity for demonstrating the differences that were inevitably present across the Continent -- from Iceland to Italy, and from Portugal to Finland -- and to study why such existed.

Oxbow says: Excavated in the 1970s, the sites of Morning Thorpe, Bergh Apton and Spong Hill in Norfolk and Westgarth Gardens in Suffolk, have only previously been published as catalogues. This volume aims to discuss the evidence from these four cemeteries in more general terms to gain insights into Anglo-Saxon social structure. Containing approximately five hundred inhumations, dating from the mid-5th to 7th century, the burials contain a wealth of artefacts which are used to establish a chronology and trace changes in material culture and burial practice over time. Issues of weapon and dress accessory deposition, as well as gender and status, are discussed as the authors examine how wealth and status differences may have manifested themselves among the communities that were buried in these cemeteries.

The Cleatham cemetery in North Lincolnshire is, with over 1200 cremations and 62 burials, England's third largest Anglo-Saxon cemetery. It was in use throughout the early Anglo-Saxon period from the mid-5th century to the late 7th century. Following full excavation, the site was analysed in detail and it proved possible to phase the 1204 inter-cut urns and a sequence of five phases was constructed. This phasing was also applied to the grave goods found within the urns, giving an insight into the sequence of metalwork, beads, combs etc. Direct links were found between urns from Cleatham and those from other cemeteries in Anglian England allowing wider conclusions to be drawn.

Roman and later activity was recorded north of Newgate, with the Roman defensive wall and a medieval bastion preserved in the new development. Stream channels gave way to early Roman settlement, with the city's defensive wall built in the late 2nd century AD. The defensive ditch was redug in the Late Saxon period and the Roman wall repaired, with the area becoming the site of the Greyfriars Friary in 1225. The City's growth saw the ditch built over by the mid 16th century and the friary was suppressed at the Dissolution. By the mid 18th century most of the city wall had been demolished and the Giltspur Street Compter prison was constructed in 1787-91. Later buildings included St Bartholomew's Hospital and the General Post Office.

The Battle of Towton in North Yorkshire, fought during the Wars of the Roses, was reputedly the bloodiest battle ever seen on English soil. In 1996 a mass grave of soldiers was discovered there by chance. This was the catalyst for a multi-disciplinary research project, still unique in Britain ten years after the initial discovery, which included a study of the skeletal remains, the battlefield landscape, the historical evidence and contemporary arms and armour. The discoveries were dramatic and moving; the individuals had clearly suffered traumatic deaths and subsequent research highlighted the often multiple wounds each individual had received before and, in some cases, after they had died. As well as the exciting forensic work the project also revealed much about medieval weaponry and fighting. Blood Red Roses contains all the information about this fascinating discovery, as well as discussing its wider historical, heritage and archaeological implications. The second edition features new chapters by a re-enactor and a history teacher, which apply the research from the initial study to produce a veritable 'living history'.

The environmental archaeological evidence from the site of Flixborough (in particular the animal bone assemblage) provides a series of unique insights into Anglo-Saxon life in England during the 8th to 10th centuries. The research reveals detailed evidence for the local and regional environment, many aspects of the local and regional agricultural economy, changing resource exploitation strategies and the extent of possible trade and exchange networks. Perhaps the most important conclusions have been gleaned from the synthesis of these various lines of evidence, viewed in a broader archaeological context. Thus, bioarchaeological data from Flixborough have documented for the first time, in a detailed and systematic way, the significant shift in social and economic aspects of wider Anglo-Saxon life during the 9th century AD., and comment on the possible role of external factors such as the arrival of Scandinavians in the life and development of the settlement. The bioarchaeological evidence from Flixborough is also used to explore the tentative evidence revealed by more traditional archaeological materials for the presence during the 9th century of elements of monastic life. The vast majority of bioarchaeological evidence from Flixborough provides both direct and indirect evidence of the wealth and social standing of some of the inhabitants as well as a plethora of unique information about agricultural and provisioning practices associated with a major Anglo-Saxon estate centre. The environmental archaeological record from Flixborough is without doubt one of the most important datasets of the early medieval period, and one which will provide a key benchmark for future research into many aspects of early medieval archaeology.

The Guildhall has been the centre of the local government of the City of London since the 12th century. Major archaeological excavations took place between 1985 and 1999, and evidence from these is combined with historical and architectural analysis to create an integrated history of the Guildhall. Beginning with the first hall of the 12th century, the book describes later halls and precinct buildings from the 14th to the 20th centuries. Good organic survival preserved evidence in an 11th- and 12th-century parish churchyard and for a number of adjacent timber houses. This wide-ranging volume highlights other themes from the medieval and later periods, including evidence for medieval Jewish occupation, the cloth market of Blackwell Hall, inns, craft activity and two parish churches.

This Gazetteer aims to be a comprehensive guide to places, artefacts and material in Yorkshire of Anglo-Saxon and Viking interest - AD400-1100. A glossary of terms and advice about access to churches and museums is included.PART 1 provides background material with illustrations about the Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, the Early Church, church building styles and architecture, plans and features of Anglo-Saxon churches, crossheads, cross-shafts, grave covers and grave markers. PART 2 identifies 282 sites with the aim of enabling the reader to know what they are looking for and where exactly to look. In alphabetical order and divided into East Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and York, each entry is star rated to indicate the quality of what there is to see and how easy it is to find, and precisely located and described, including measurements and descriptions of decoration where appropriate.The author has published guidebooks identifying historic sites from prehistory to 1945 in Orkney, Shetland, Northumberland & Tyne and Wear. This Gazetteer is the first in a series identifying Anglo-Saxon and Viking sites others will follow.

The formation of the landscape archaeological record is primarily a product of the post-medieval period' (Tom Williamson). This book reflects some of the most recent work in landscape studies of the period since 1500. It builds upon ideas and techniques pioneered by Hoskins in fields such as Anglo-Saxon topography and vernacular architecture, and also demonstrates how scholars are developing the subject conceptually, to examine landscapes as cultural artefacts, perceived differently by different groups within society.

Extensively illustrated with colour and black and white images, this book tells Clarendon's story, from the Neolithic through to the present day. It focuses in particular on the palace and deer park's medieval heyday. Soon after the Norman conquest, Clarendon in Wiltshire became the country retreat of the kings and queens of England. Clarendon was large enough to host up to 2000 people, but it also had intimate suites for private life: royalty could govern and relax, whilst indulging their passion for hunting. Here in 1164 Henry II confronted Thomas Becket, and it was here that the Plantagenets sustained their grandest palace outside London and the largest deer park in the kingdom. The visitor to the park today will find this medieval landscape still recognisable and more or less intact. Yet until comparatively recently, it remained secret and undiscovered. This impecably-researched and very readable history draws on multiple sources to bring the past of this great royal landscape to life. The park is rich in Prehistoric remains, but it is the historic period which excites archaeological attention. The authors explore Saxon Clarendon and chart the Norman creation of the deer park and the building of the palace. They also cover the centuries since the Restoration: in 1660 Clarendon became a private country estate that came to express Protestant, Tory and military values.

The North of England and northern-ness are elusive concepts, both academically and in popular perception. This volume in the English Surnames Survey series looks at what can be learned about the idea of the 'North' of England as a distinct identity from its surnames. The personal names from the north during the medieval/early modern period are linguistic phenomena, incorporating dialect speech that defined a northern consciousness, and in this way are an invaluable resource in exploring a northern identity. Dave Postles attempts to reconstruct the language of the speech community and communities of northern England through the reporting and recording of personal name elements, examining the evidence from patronyms, metronyms and personal names, as well as occupational bynames, and even nicknames. He identifies many distinctions including the longer continuity of insular personal names in the north which implies a cultural dissonance with the south perhaps in terms of a residual culture, but equally perhaps in terms of a resistant or oppositional culture. Since (what others might assume to be) insalubrious nickname bynames continued later in the north than in more southerly environments, northern speech through names could be represented as (by northerners) direct and (by southerners) uncivil.

We tend to think of a feud as being a long established state of hostilities, especially between families or clans, which normally manifests itself in revengeful violence. One of the articles in this volume thus states: "What began as a dispute over the property rights of a woman to whom both parties were related quickly mutated into a violent clash between men, in which honour and reputation were at stake -- and from here to a full-blown feud the distance was rather short". However, the studies of feuds presented in this publication leave no doubt that they were very different in different societies. The phenomenon of feud turns out to be intimately connected with developments in society and state. Consequently, in recent years a growing interest has been aroused in further researching the topic and the aim of this book is therefore to present some of the principal positions of this new research. Contributions by leading scholars in the field cover a large span of years, from the classic Icelandic feuds of the Sagas to more recent Early-Modern incidents. One contribution even takes us back to the roots of mankind, but the focus of the book is mainly on the Medieval and Early-Modern period. The volume is opened with a comprehensive introduction to the field, followed by a chapter that seeks general definitions. Hereafter, we are presented with specific cases of Icelandic women from the Sagas who promote feuds, studies of feuds in 14th century Marseilles, Italian Medieval vendettas, and feuding in Medieval Germany and Denmark.

Between 1989 and 1991, excavations in the parish of Flixborough, North Lincolnshire, unearthed remains of an Anglo-Saxon settlement associated with one of the largest collections of artefacts and animal bones yet found on such a site. In an unprecedented occupation sequence from an Anglo-Saxon rural settlement, six main periods of occupation have been identified, dating from the seventh to the early eleventh centuries; with a further period of activity, between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries AD. The remains of approximately forty buildings and other structures were uncovered; and due to the survival of large refuse deposits, huge quantities of artefacts and faunal remains were encountered compared with most other rural settlements of the period. The quality of the overall archaeological data contained within the settlement sequence is important for both the examination of site-specific issues, and for the investigation of wider research themes and problems, facing settlement studies in England, between AD 600 and 1050. Volume 1 focuses on the occupation sequence, looking at the structural and stratigraphical evidence from the site, and interpreting the changing use of the site during its lengthy occupation. This interpretation of the occupation sequence forms the basis for all thematic discussions in Volumes 3 and 4. It also examines the evidence for burials at the site, and places this into the wider context of sepulchral practices in mid and late Saxon England. Finally there is discussion of the osteological remains themselves, giving hints of the demographic spectrum of the inhabitants, their lifestyles and ailments.

Excavations at nine sites along the route of the Great Barford Bypass provided a rare opportunity to investigate an extensive area of the South Midlands claylands, a landscape that has hitherto seen little archaeological work. The excavations produced evidence for the long-term development of the social landscape, agrarian economy and environment of the area from prehistory to the Middle Ages. Sporadic occupation took place during the Neolithic and Bronze Age, with systematic colonisation first occurring in the later Iron Age. One of the four excavated Iron Age settlements showed striking ritual activity, including what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence for the long-term curation of human bone within Iron Age Britain. In the Roman period, two of the settlements continued to be occupied and two new sites were founded. Associated features included pottery kilns and cremation and inhumation cemeteries. Early Saxon activity was also present at one of the Roman sites. A new settlement pattern appeared in the late Saxon/early medieval period, with the establishment of three farmsteads or hamlets, all of which were abandoned by the 13th century. The implications of the evidence for our understanding of the archaeology of the wider region are fully discussed.

Excavations 1976-90 at the priory of St Mary Merton revealed much about the layout and development of this monastery from the 12th century to the Dissolution. Founded on its present site beside the Wandle river, c 11.3km south-west of London, in 1117, Merton was one of the most influential of all the English houses of regular canons, and was much favoured by Henry III. Of particular interest are the monastic infirmary complex - hall, chapel, cloister and ancillary buildings - and the large number (700+) of burials excavated from the external cemetery, church, cloister and chapter house.

The Sea Stallion from Glendalough is the nearest that we can come today to experiencing a complete longship from the time when this type of ship reached its peak of design. At the same time the ship is an experiment. Here is documented an experiment between the reconstructed ship and the forces of nature to understand the prerequisites for the expansion of territory in the Viking Age.