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Purpose Improve understanding of the links between biological variables (sex, body size and anatomical position) and adaptive remodelling of autopodia, and the identification of traction use in the archaeological record. Methods A modified version of the recording system for identifying draught cattle in the archaeological record (Bartosiewicz et al., 1997) was applied to a sample of 1509 bones from six sites from medieval England. Analysis focused on identifying correlations between pathological and sub-pathological changes in lower-limb bones in relation to anatomy, sex and body mass. Results A correlation between sex, body mass and lower limb bone changes was demonstrated. The need to consider anterior and posterior limb bone elements separately to maximise the potential for identifying cattle used for traction was identified. Changes in hindlimb elements were highlighted as the most useful indicator of draught use. Contribution This study provides new, detailed evidence for a previously poorly understood correlation between the effects of anatomical position, sex and body size and the nature of skeletal changes traditionally associated with draught cattle. It pulls together findings and makes comprehensive suggestions for future studies. Limitations This is a purely methodological paper. Although general results are presented, there is insufficient space to include a full case study. This will be published separately within the results of the FeedSax project. Further research Future studies into the use of cattle for draught purposes in the past should take in to account the sex and size of the animals under consideration, and analyse anterior and posterior elements separately.

Garnet-inlaid metalwork was an emblem of elite culture in the early medieval North Sea world. This study compares three Anglo-Saxon garnet-inlaid brooches that are exceptionally similar in design and appearance. All three date to the seventh century, a period that saw the emergence of leading families that used such deluxe dress items to enhance their political position. The central hypothesis explored here is that the brooches were produced by the same, or by closely linked, goldsmiths working under the patronage of such a family. Integrated analysis was conducted using microscopy, CT scans, XRF and XRD, in part to establish whether the garnets used came from the same or different sources.

In much of Europe, the advent of low-input cereal farming regimes betweenc.ad800 and 1200 enabled landowners—lords—to amass wealth by greatly expanding the amount of land under cultivation and exploiting the labour of others. Scientific analysis of plant remains and animal bones from archaeological contexts is generating the first direct evidence for the development of such low-input regimes. This article outlines the methods used by the FeedSax project to resolve key questions regarding the ‘cerealization’ of the medieval countryside and presents preliminary results using the town of Stafford as a worked example. These indicate an increase in the scale of cultivation in the Mid-Saxon period, while the Late Saxon period saw a shift to a low-input cultivation regime and probably an expansion onto heavier soils. Crop rotation appears to have been practised from at least the mid-tenth century.

This article reports the results of recent fieldwork carried out at Long Wittenham, Oxfordshire. The site at Long Wittenham had previously been identified from aerial photographs and LiDAR as a possible seventh-century great hall complex – a distinctive type of high-status settlement – but the site had never been ground-truthed. Fieldwork was therefore undertaken to confirm the nature and date of the Long Wittenham cropmarks, through geophysical survey, metal-detecting and three seasons of excavation. The results have confirmed the existence of high-status seventh-century buildings at Long Wittenham, but the largest building previously identified at Long Wittenham is now interpreted as a Roman enclosure, leaving the complex of buildings without an exceptionally large hall. This complicates the interpretation of the site, suggesting that Long Wittenham may have been a secondary high-status site, potentially subordinate to the great hall complex at Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire.

Simple Summary The population of medieval England (AD 400–1400) was largely employed in farming-related activities. Cattle were crucial as providers of power as well as milk, meat, and hides and were valued economically and socially. From the mid-seventh century, cattle husbandry increasingly relied on draught cattle for arable production and agricultural tasks such as ploughing, hauling, and carting. Analysis of cattle bones from archaeological sites permits the reconstruction of herd demographics and assessment of the use of cattle for traction through analysis of age and sex profiles, and the presence and severity of pathological and sub-pathological changes to the lower limb bones of cattle. When combined with ethnographic studies and historical documents, it is possible to perceive how attitudes to cattle have changed over time. By integrating multiple lines of evidence (archaeological, ethnographic, and historical), this study reveals how the value of cattle changed over time from a status symbol (representing accumulated wealth) to a commodity. A peak in the use of cattle for traction between the mid-ninth and mid-eleventh centuries may have increased the proximity of human–cattle bonds, which perhaps diminished in subsequent years as the demand for younger cattle increased to feed a growing urban population. Abstract Across medieval Europe, cattle commanded a major, if shifting, economic and social value, and their use for meat, milk, and traction is well established. Although the changing roles of cattle throughout this period may have influenced relationships between humans and cattle, this has been largely neglected in historical and zooarchaeological studies. Data from nearly 700 archaeological assemblages of animal remains have been used to provide an overview of the herd structures (age and sex) of cattle populations for England between AD 450 and 1400. These have been analysed alongside pathological and sub-pathological changes in over 2800 lower limb bones of cattle from seventeen archaeological sites to provide a better understanding of the use of cattle for ploughing, hauling, and carting. The findings were considered alongside historical documents and ethnographic evidence to chart changing human–cattle relationships. Results indicate that human–cattle relations varied with changing economic, agricultural, and social practices. From the mid-fifth century, cattle were a form of portable wealth, however, by the mid-ninth century, they were perceived as a commodity with monetary value. From this period, close human–cattle bonds are likely to have been widespread between plough hands and working animals. Such bonds are may have diminished with the increasing number of young beef cattle kept to supply the urban population from the mid-eleventh century.

Objective To provide a comparative baseline for future studies of oral pathology in domestic livestock and to better understand connections between lesion prevalence and biological context in past animal populations. Materials Over 1600 sheep and cattle mandibles recovered from archaeological sites in England between 500 and 1300 CE. Methods A comprehensive investigation of periodontal disease was conducted based on four characteristics: dental calculus; periosteal new bone formation; alveolar recession; and ante-mortem tooth loss. The anatomical position and severity of these lesions were quantified and correlated against the age of each individual. Results Two types of periosteal new bone formation were recognized: one in the growing mandibles of young animals, the other in older animals and associated with disease. The incidence of calculus and alveolar recession increase with age. Correlations exist between calculus, alveolar recession and periosteal new bone formation. Disruption caused by the eruption of the P4 is also implied as a contributory factor to the onset of periodontal disease. Conclusions When interpreting periodontal disease in zooarchaeological collections it is vital to consider the effect of age as well as environmental and genetic factors. Significance This is the first comprehensive zooarchaeological study to investigate the effect of age on periodontal disease. It provides a better understanding of the frequency and presentation of periodontal disease as a baseline for future studies. Limitations Cattle mandibles are under-represented due to poor survival. Ideally, radiographs of mandibles with ante-mortem tooth loss would be taken, but this was not possible. Suggestions for further research The role of genetic factors, diet and environment needs to be better understood.

Objectives Enthesophytes on sheep elbow joints are commonly reported in archaeological material. Although these lesions are often described as ‘penning elbow’, little is known of their aetiology. In this study, a new method for recording these lesions is presented, and the effect of age, sex and body size is explored to understand their potential for informing upon past human-animal interactions. Materials 1133 distal humerii and proximal radii from 16 archaeological sites. Methods The presence and severity of enthesophytes were recorded and findings compared with modern data from a group of 17 complete Soay sheep skeletons. Results Significant, positive correlations between age and body size and the presence of enthesophytes were demonstrated. Environmental factors and trauma may also play a role in their formation. Conclusion The aetiology of enthesophytes on sheep elbows is complex and varied, affected by age, body size and environment. Significance This is the first study of enthesophytes on sheep elbows to combine archaeological data with modern animals of known age and sex. Blanket explanations of husbandry methods for the cause of these lesions are dispelled, and use of the term ‘penning elbow’ is redundant. Limitations The sample of modern specimens is relatively small and would benefit from the inclusion of older individuals and those raised in different environments. Future research The method developed here can be adopted in future studies. Interpretations should take age, size and environmental factors into consideration, and only when these variables are established can the role of husbandry be evaluated.

The early Middle Ages saw a major expansion of cereal cultivation across large parts of Europe thanks to the spread of open-field farming. A major project to trace this expansion in England by deploying a range of scientific methods is generating direct evidence for this so-called ‘Medieval Agricultural Revolution’.

A new, refined chronology for seventh-century graves and grave goods in England has revealed a marked increase in well-furnished female burials beginning in the second quarter of the seventh century. The present study considers what gave rise to this phenomenon and concludes that the small number of royal nuns and abbesses who figure so prominently in written accounts of the Conversion were part of a wider, undocumented change in the role of women that began several decades before the founding of the first female houses. It is argued that these well-furnished graves reflect a new investment in the commemoration of females who came to represent their family’s interests in newly acquired estates and whose importance was enhanced by their ability to confer supernatural legitimacy onto dynastic claims.

In 2009, a metal-detector find of a rare garnet-inlaid composite disc brooch at West Hanney, Oxfordshire, led to the excavation of an apparently isolated female burial sited in a prominent position overlooking the Ock valley. The burial dates to the middle decades of the seventh century, a period of rapid socio-political development in the region, which formed the early heartland of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex. The de luxe brooch links the wearer to two other burials furnished with very similar brooches at Milton, some 10km to the east and onlyc1km from the Anglo-Saxon great hall complex at Sutton Courtenay / Drayton, just south of Abingdon. All three women must have been members of the region’s politically dominant group, known as theGewisse. The burial’s grave goods and setting add a new dimension to our understanding of the richly furnished female burials that are such a prominent feature of the funerary record of seventh-century England.

A new generation of large-scale, mostly developer-funded excavations of Anglo-Saxon settlements are revolutionising our understanding of the socio-economic development of rural communities in the mid- to late Saxon periods. After characterising the settlement forms seen during the fifth to seventh centuries, this paper traces the diversification in the structure and layout of settlements from the later seventh century onwards and considers its causes, such as the possible relationship between the construction of extensive complexes of ditched enclosures and droveways, and new forms of land use.

Since E. T. Leeds' excavations of the Anglo-Saxon settlement at Sutton Courtenay in the 1920s and 1930s, aerial photographs revealing large timber buildings, as well as finds of metalwork and coins have suggested that the settlement was more extensive and of higher status than Leeds had imagined. This report reviews this evidence and describes the results of fieldwalking, geophysical survey and small-scale excavation which have provided further details of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, and uncovered one of the timber buildings. It has also revealed features pre-dating the Anglo-Saxon occupation: Neolithic pits and an oval barrow—perhaps related to a nearby cursus—a Late Bronze Age burial, an Early Iron Age settlement and a Roman field system.

An archaeological evaluation at the site of an Anglo-Saxon ‘great hall complex’ at Sutton Courtenay/Drayton, Oxfordshire (NGR 448733 193671), previously known primarily from aerial photographs and metal-detector finds, included the partial excavation of two large timber buildings. One of these had been cut into a prehistoric mound or bank and proved to be the largest Anglo-Saxon ‘great hall’ yet identified. The smaller building overlay an earlier sunken-featured building of probable sixth-century date. The geophysical survey and excavation provide significant new information regarding the site, which is probably that of an undocumented royal centre associated with the earliest rulers of the West Saxons.

The Anglo-Saxon rural settlement is a picture of far greater complexity and diversity than could have been imagined at the time that Philip Rahtz's pioneering survey was published. Factors affecting the recognition of settlements clearly come into play when considering their geographical distribution. Serendipity will always have a role to play in the discovery of Anglo-Saxon settlements: the impressive, high-status settlement at Cowdery's Down, Hampshire, came to light during the investigation of a complex of cropmarks dating to the Bronze Age and Civil War era. The detailed stratigraphic sequences allowed changes in the configuration of the settlement to be traced in some detail. Explaining the unfeasibly high proportion of excavated settlements of the mid to late Saxon periods that display at least some of the trappings of high status in terms of their layout and buildings and/or their material culture will require further research.

Medieval Archaeology, 38, 1-18, The paper presents a brief overview of recent excavations of migration period settlements in Flanders. A discussion of the pottery from these sites follows, with special reference to chaff-tempered pottery which appears to be identical to that found in Anglo-Saxon England both in technique and petrology. The paper concludes with a review of the evidence for the chronology and distribution of the technique and a consideration of the implications of the Flanders finds for the origins and distribution of chaff-tempered pottery.

The traditional image of the stable Anglo-Saxon village as the direct ancestor of the medieval village is no longer tenable in view of growing evidence for settlement mobility in the early and middle Saxon periods. Indeed, it now appears that most ‘nucleated’ medieval villages are not the direct successors of early, or even middle Saxon settlements, and that nucleation itself appears to be a remarkably late phenomenon.

Medieval Archaeology, 50, 1-30, 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.

Central to the re-evaluation of the Germanic migration and its impact on post-Roman Britain is the relationship between Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon cemeteries and settlements. The Romano-British cemetery at Queenford Farm, for instance, lay outside the Roman small town of Dorchester-on-Thames in an area with an early fifth-century Anglo-Saxon presence, yet radiocarbon dates indicate that it continued in use into the sixth century. The cemeteries and settlements of the sixth century indicate that the society within which the Anglo-Saxon identity developed was not rigidly stratified and that high-ranking individuals were integrated within the community, in death as well as in life. The earliest Anglo-Saxon leaders, unable to tax and coerce followers as successfully as the Roman state had done, instead extracted surplus by raiding and collecting food renders. By 600, the establishment of the first Anglo-Saxon emporia was in prospect. Anglo-Saxon society, in short, looked very different in ad 600 than it did a hundred years earlier.

As settlements became more clearly bounded and fixed in the landscape, so too did territories based on landed production, which became increasingly intensive and politically controlled (as we shall see in Chapter 5). These territories became formalized when leaders were able to exercise authority within them by protecting clients through juridical and/or military means, and by extracting surplus from, and controlling access to, landed resources. The identification of communities and individuals with a particular territory or region, whether this was defined by shared markets, dialect, military allegiances, or other commonalities, must also have grown in importance in this period, as ties of ethnicity and kinship began to give ground to bonds of clientship and rank. The formalization of territories was of course key to the formation of early kingdoms. What can archaeology tell us about the effects of territorialization and estate formation on rural communities? Certain regular features govern territorial formation in pre-industrial societies. In particular, universal ‘push–pull’ factors underlie the territorial structure and settlement pattern of agrarian communities. Briefly stated, every community needs to establish a territory in order to keep neighbouring communities at a distance and preserve its resources (‘push’ factors), but the necessity of maintaining certain social ties between communities, such as marriage, trade, and shared defence (‘pull’ factors), will act to minimize the distance between them (Heidinga 1987, 157). For example, the distribution of settlement in the Veluwe district of the central Netherlands shows that the northeast and the southwest regions were largely empty in the seventh century, even though their soils were suitable for farming and they were occupied both before and after this period. They lay outside the core area of the seventh-century resettlement of the Veluwe, however, and it appears that communities chose not to spread out thinly across the entire territory, but rather to remain relatively close to one another (Heidinga 1987, 162). In the Netherlands, Germany, and England, early territories could, under certain circumstances, be remarkably stable and survive to be detected in much later boundaries (e.g. Waterbolk 1982 and 1991a; Cunliffe 1973; Janssen 1976). In view of this stability and the behavioural ‘rules’ which appear to govern territorial formation, some archaeologists have attempted to reconstruct proto-historic territories. Several presuppositions underlie such reconstruction. The first is that the ‘push–pull’ factors already mentioned invariably operate between neighbouring communities.