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ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS in early-medieval northern Britain was the re-emergence of fortified enclosures and settlements. As in western England and Wales, the fort rather than the hall formed the most prominent material manifestation of power of an elite and their client group. While fortified sites dominate our knowledge of the form that central places of power and governance took in the early-medieval period in northern Britain, our historical sources reveal little about the character, longevity and lifespan of many of these important nodes of power, and archaeological investigation has also tended to be limited. Hence only a handful of forts in northern Britain provide well-dated and investigated sequences for what are critical sites for understanding the character of post-Roman society in the north. As part of the Leverhulme Trust-funded Comparative Kingship project, a suite of new radiocarbon dates was produced using archived material from excavations at the now-destroyed early-medieval hillfort of Clatchard Craig in Fife, eastern Scotland (NGR NO 2435 1780); one of the most complex early-medieval forts yet identified in northern Britain. Some 35 years ago, Joanna Close-Brooks oversaw the publication of a report on the hillfort based on excavations which had occurred more than two decades earlier in response to the quarrying of this multivallate hillfort.5Due to the imprecision and scarcity of radiocarbon dating, a broad 6th to 8th + century ad chronology for the defences and occupation of the interior was obtained. With higher precision AMS dates and a new Bayesian model, a much tighter sequence of dating has been produced suggesting the development and destruction of the monumentally enclosed phase of the site centred on a much shorter period in the 7th century ad. The new chronology for the site, which suggests the fort was constructed and destroyed within a few generations at most, has important implications for the role of fortifications, and the character of warfare in early-medieval society. The burning of the fort suggests a catastrophic and rapid end to a site that is likely to have been constructed by the Pictish elite. The fort may have been a victim of the tumultuous and pivotal events of the latter half of the 7th century when southern Pictland came under Northumbrian control before being wrested back into Pictish overkingship in the aftermath of the Battle of Nechtanesmere of ad 685. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

REMAINS OF AN 11th–13th-century farmstead were revealed during excavations within part of ‘The Hayworth’, an early enclosure on the ‘lost’ manor of Trubwick, (West Sussex).2Historical, landscape and toponymic evidence has been utilised to set the archaeological activity in context. It seems probable that the excavated site, and the Hayworth enclosure more broadly, relate to a specialised cattle rearing or vaccary farm. The site represents the most completely excavated vaccary complex yet known, and is the first recognisable example from the Wealden region in south-east England.The discovery has important implications for our current understanding of medieval Wealden economy and environment, as well as patterns of settlement evolution. Evidence suggests this site can be linked with the traditions of Anglo-Saxon outpasture and transhumance. This article explores the evidence from this site for the transition from a seasonal pasture to a permanent 12th-century manorial establishment held in severalty. The likely form of a vaccary complex is established and the potential for the existence of these specialised cattle ‘ranches’ and dairies is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses archaeological discoveries made by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in medieval Britain and Ireland. Topics include features of early medieval coins circulated in England in the 5th century, the excavation of a bronze bowl, ceramic vessel, and coin pendants from a 7th century female burial in Norfolk, England, and the analysis of medieval commercial locations such as Saltfleetby and Skidbrooke.

This section of the journal comprises two core sets of reports linked to work in 2014: on finds and analyses relating to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and on site-specific discoveries and reports in medieval Britain and Ireland (MB&I), with a selection of highlighted projects. For the PAS report, reviews on coin and non-coin finds and on specific research angles are presented. For MB&I, the Society is most grateful to all contributors (of field units, museums, universities, developers, specialist groups and individuals) who have provided reports on finds, excavations, field-surveys and building analyses for 2014. For MB&I, see below for the format and content of the Fieldwork Highlights section and for contact details of the compilers. The annual Specialist Groups Reports appear in the Society’sNewsletter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section of the journal comprises two core sets of reports linked to work in 2013: on finds and analyses relating to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and on site-specific discoveries and reports in medieval Britain and Ireland (MB&I), with a selection of highlighted projects. For the PAS report, reviews on coin and non-coin finds and on specific research angles are presented. For MB&I, the Society is most grateful to all contributors (of field units, museums, universities, developers, specialist groups and individuals) who have provided reports on finds, excavations, field-surveys and building analyses for 2013. Note that while we can advise on content, we are not able to abstract from interim reports. Please also note that in certain cases the National Grid Reference has been omitted from reports to protect sites; do notify the compilers if this information is to be withheld. For MB&I, see below for the format and content of the Fieldwork Highlights section and for the contact details of the compilers. The annual Specialist Groups Reports now appear in the Society’s Newsletter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section of the journal comprises two core sets of reports linked to work in 2011: on finds and analyses relating to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and on site-specific discoveries and reports in medieval Britain and Ireland (MB&I), with a selection of highlighted projects. For the PAS report, reviews on coin and non-coin finds and on specific research angles are presented. For MB&I, the Society is most grateful to all contributors (of field units, museums, universities, developers, specialist groups and individuals) who have provided reports on finds, excavations, field-surveys and building analyses for 2011. Note that, while we can advise on content, we are not able to abstract from interim reports. Please also note that in certain cases the National Grid Reference has been omitted from reports to protect sites; do notify the compilers if this information is to be withheld. For MB&I, see below for the format and content of the Fieldwork Highlights section and for the contact details of the compilers. The annual Specialist Groups Reports now appear in the Society's Newsletter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Later Medieval England possessed over 300 documented leper hospitals, representing around a quarter of all hospital foundations, but to date a sustained discussion of this archaeological material is lacking. This paper synthesises and explores the present state of archaeological knowledge within the broader context of recent studies in other disciplines. It identifies some current issues and avenues for potential research, with particular reference to the recent archaeological work at St Mary Magdalen, Winchester, one of the most extensive excavations of a medieval leper hospital and almshouse to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses medieval archaeological finds from 2010, focusing on records of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and other discoveries made in Great Britain and Ireland. The authors describe the PAS's aim to record archaeological finds discovered by the public, and the 1996 Treasure Act allowing museums to acquire finds. The authors discuss the death of PAS archaeologist Geoff Egan and describe medieval coinage recorded in 2010 as well as other finds such as runic inscriptions and pilgrims' badges. Also presented is an index of 2010 archaeological finds and projects in Great Britain and Ireland, along with brief reports about each project including a 9th-century industrial site in Northumberland, England, a Viking-Age settlement in Orkney, Scotland, and Nevern Castle in Wales.

Excavation at Bantham Ham in 2001 examined a sequence of post-Roman occupation with radiocarbon dates centred on the late 5th and 6th centuries. Despite the limited area of exposure, a major and unusually well-preserved assemblage of Mediterranean amphorae was recovered; among sites in the British Isles, the quantity of ceramics is second only to that from Tintagel. This assemblage is of great significance in the study of links between western Britain and the Mediterranean in the post-Roman period, raising questions about the date, duration and character of trading patterns, and about their late-Roman antecedents. Associated finds of vessel glass and evidence of ironworking are discussed; the glass is interpreted as reflecting elite drinking rituals. Study of well-preserved bone, shell, charcoal and charred plant macrofossils allows consideration of aspects of the economy and environment of the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Number of bracteate finds from early Anglo-Saxon England has increased substantially in recent years. A catalogue draws together for the first time all the finds since 1993 and one, possibly two, dies with bracteate motifs. This leads to a review of their find circumstances, distribution and their stylistic and iconographical links with continental and Scandinavian bracteates. The outcome is a revised picture of the function and meaning of bracteates in Anglo-Saxon society, with the suggestion that the English adopted the idea for these pendants from Sievern in Germany but adapted the concept and iconography for local manufacture. In Kent use links to high-status female burials but outside Kent ritual deposition is also a possibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological Excavations by Field Archaeology Specialists in 2002 outside the walls of York have revealed new evidence for the elusive transition between the Roman and Viking city. At Heslington Hill, in the campus of the present University of York, an early-Anglo-Saxon settlement dates from c AD 550 to AD 650. In the 7th century a new settlement began 2 km westwards on the same glacial moraine. This was the site of Eoforwic at Fishergate on the River Ouse, investigated in the 1980s and here revisited with additional evidence from excavations in 2000–01. The ceramic assemblage suggests that the two communities were connected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a compilation of reports related to medieval archeology societies in Great Britain and Ireland in 2006. They include information on the conference and seminars conducted during the year by Medieval Settlement Research Group (MSRG), Medieval Pottery Research Group, and Finds Research Group. Also included are information about the archeological objects that were discovered and recorded in 2006, and details of archeological structures and excavations which include the remains of the Cluniac priory, and the Bishop's Palace and Manor in Exeter, England.

Provides reports on excavations, survey work, and a compilation of portable antiquities scheme report in Great Britain. Excursion to Normandy organized by the Castle Studies Group; Activities coordinated by the Medieval Pottery Research Group; Description of a copper-alloy axe discovered in Dorchester.