Stratton, Biggleswade: 1,300 Years of Village Life in Eastern Bedfordshire from the 5th Century AD
By (author) Drew Shotliff By (author) David Ingham Contributions by Holly Duncan Contributions by Mark Maltby Contributions by Wendy Smith Contributions by Jackie Wells Illustrated by Joan Lightning Illustrated by Cecily Marshall Illustrated by Lisa Padilla Illustrated by Mike Trevarthen
Paperback (Published)
(April 2022)
ISBN: 9781803270746
8.07 x 11.42 inches
Price: $64.00
In stock
Presents the results of 12 hectares of archaeological excavation undertaken between 1990-2001. As well as uncovering roughly half of the medieval village, the investigations revealed that Stratton’s origins stretched back to the early Anglo-Saxon period, with the settlement remaining in continuous use through to c. 1700.
Stratton, Biggleswade: 1,300 years of village life in eastern Bedfordshire from the 5th century AD presents the results of 12 hectares of archaeological excavation undertaken between 1990 and 2001. As well as uncovering roughly half of the medieval village, the investigations revealed that Stratton’s origins stretched back to the early Anglo-Saxon period, with the settlement remaining in continuous use through to c. 1700. In contrast to many of the other major excavations of Anglo-Saxon settlements, the evidence from Stratton provides insights into the lives of a low-status rural community, whose development can be traced over the course of more than a millennium. This book presents a chronological account of Stratton’s development; evidence for its economy, trading relations, industrial activities and agricultural landscape; and a discussion of how people lived and died there before the village was finally extinguished by the creation of the classic estate landscape of Stratton Park.
Preface Summary Chapter 1. Introduction Introduction Location, topography and geology Project background and nature of the investigations Nature of the post-excavation analysis Nature of the phasing structure and contextual hierarchy Archaeological background Historical background Chapter 2. Pre-Settlement Landscape Neolithic to Bronze Age (Period 1) Early Iron Age (Period 2) Period 3 structural narrative (early Anglo-Saxon: c. AD 400-600) Period 3 artefacts Chapter 3. Early-Middle Anglo-Saxon Settlement Period 4 structural narrative (middle Anglo-Saxon: c. AD 600-850) Period 4 artefacts Chapter 4. Late Anglo-Saxon / Saxo-Norman settlement (Period 5: c. AD 850-1150) Period 5 structural narrative Artefacts Chapter 5. Medieval settlement (Period 6: c. AD 1150-1350) Period 6 structural narrative Artefacts Chapter 6. Late medieval to post-medieval settlement (Periods 7-8: c. AD 1350-1700) Period 7 structural narrative Period 7 artefacts Period 8 structural narrative Period 8 artefacts Chapter 7. Building forms Sunken-featured buildings (SFBs) Earthfast timber buildings Chapter 8. Overview of the artefacts Pottery Ceramic building material Other artefacts Chapter 9. The vegetational history of Stratton Introduction Woodland Resources The surrounding environment Cultivation of crops Conclusions Chapter 10. Faunal remains Introduction Animal exploitation at Stratton Cattle Sheep/Goat Pig Horse Dogs Cats Deer Hares and rabbits Other mammals Birds Amphibians and fish Chapter 11. Discussion Introduction Settlement origins, development and demise Farming economy, diet and the surrounding environment Manufacturing, consumption and exchange Death and burial Bibliography, Preface ;
Summary ;
Chapter 1. Introduction ;
IntroductionLocation, topography and geologyProject background and nature of the investigationsNature of the post-excavation analysisNature of the phasing structure and contextual hierarchyArchaeological backgroundHistorical background Chapter 2. Pre-Settlement Landscape ;
Neolithic to Bronze Age (Period 1)Early Iron Age (Period 2)Period 3 structural narrative (early Anglo-Saxon: c. AD 400–600)Period 3 artefacts Chapter 3. Early–Middle Anglo-Saxon Settlement ;
Period 4 structural narrative (middle Anglo-Saxon: c. AD 600–850)Period 4 artefacts Chapter 4. Late Anglo-Saxon / Saxo-Norman settlement (Period 5: c. AD 850–1150) ;
Period 5 structural narrativeArtefacts Chapter 5. Medieval settlement (Period 6: c. AD 1150–1350) ;
Period 6 structural narrativeArtefacts Chapter 6. Late medieval to post-medieval settlement (Periods 7–8: c. AD 1350–1700) ;
Period 7 structural narrativePeriod 7 artefactsPeriod 8 structural narrative Period 8 artefacts Chapter 7. Building forms ;
Sunken-featured buildings (SFBs)Earthfast timber buildings Chapter 8. Overview of the artefacts ;
PotteryCeramic building materialOther artefacts Chapter 9. The vegetational history of Stratton ;
IntroductionWoodland ResourcesThe surrounding environmentCultivation of cropsConclusions Chapter 10. Faunal remains ;
IntroductionAnimal exploitation at StrattonCattleSheep/GoatPigHorseDogsCatsDeerHares and rabbitsOther mammalsBirdsAmphibians and fish Chapter 11. Discussion ;
IntroductionSettlement origins, development and demiseFarming economy, diet and the surrounding environmentManufacturing, consumption and exchangeDeath and burial Bibliography
- By (author) Drew Shotliff
- By (author) David Ingham
- Contributions by Holly Duncan
- Contributions by Mark Maltby
- Contributions by Wendy Smith
- Contributions by Jackie Wells
- Illustrated by Joan Lightning
- Illustrated by Cecily Marshall
- Illustrated by Lisa Padilla
- Illustrated by Mike Trevarthen
‘This report marks a useful interim stage in our understanding of Stratton. Now the accumulated data can be used to devise a clear picture of the settlement’s development with plans of each period which select the most important features.’ – Christopher Dyer (2022): Medieval Settlement Research, Vol. 37
—
'Overall this is an invaluable report on a fascinating site, although it would have been useful to learn of the landscape as it was in the 19th century – including the Roman road that ran through the site and its two remnant moated manorial sites – as a background to the excavation plans.' – Stephen Rippon (2022): Medieval Archaeology, 66/2
—
'...the volume's many contributors have made a significant contribution to medieval archaeology.' – Stephen Mileson (2023): Current Archaeology 391
—
Similar Books
Innovation and Medieval Communities
The Circulation of Ideas and Practices in and out of the Town (1200-1500)
Volume 63
Medieval Yeghegis, Armenia
History, Archaeology, Society. Local Multiplicities and Global Connections of a Rural Centre on the Silk Road(s)
Power and Women in Southeast and Central Europe in Late Medieval and Early Modern Period (1300-1600)
Volume 10
Women in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
Studies from Western Europe and North Africa
Volume 44
Los oficios de los diplomas latinos de la Cataluna altomedieval
Estudio de las innovaciones lexicas: XI Premio Internacional de Tesis Doctorales Fundacion Ana Maria Aldama Roy de Estudios Latinos
Volume 106
A Communication Ethic of Dialogic Reformation
Nicholas of Cusa on Care for Communities in Crisis
Volume 106
Ambiguum 10 of Maximus the Confessor in Modern Study
Papers collected on the Occasion of the Budapest Colloquium on Saint Maximus, 3-4 February 2021
Volume 97
Building the Presence of the Prince
The Institutions Responsible for the Construction and Management of the Buildings of European Courts (14th-17th centuries)
Volume 14
Byzantine Historiographical Prefaces (4th-15th Centuries)
A Study on Praxis and Culture of Writing History in Byzantium
Volume 23
Ceramics in Plain Sight: The Bacini of the Churches of Crete. “Reflections” of the Late Medieval and the Early Modern Material Culture of the Island
Volume II: The Regional Unit of Lasithi
Volume 13
Communicating the Passion
The Socio-Religious Function of an Emotional Narrative (1250-1530)
Volume 21
Cultivating the Earth, Nurturing the Body and Soul
Daily Life in Early Medieval England: Essays in Honour of Debby Banham
Volume 12