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Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 25, 128-130, Publication review

Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 39, 75-102, This paper presents a review of the state of pottery studies in the four historic counties of south-west England (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset) and offers a guide to the production centres and principal consumer sites in the region. Coverage extends into Bristol, whose pottery is inseparable from that of Somerset. The unique Cornish tradition of wares spanning the post-Roman to Norman periods, which has seen important work in recent years is not discussed. The gazetteer in Part 2 is organised by historic county.

Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 36, 89-98, The history of the Medieval Pottery Research Group (MPRG) would not be complete if it were not for the involvement of the local research groups which either inspired or evolved from the main society. The local groups provide additional meetings to that of the annual conference and allow for the exchange of information at 'grass roots' and wider levels. This paper was inspired by Anna Slowikowski's active participation in the South-East Midlands Medieval Pottery Research group, which under her joint tenure with other organisers, insured that at least two meetings of this group happened each year. In this paper, the present regional organisers of the local groups were asked for a contribution concerning reminiscences of Anna's involvement or aspects of their involvement with regional groups and what these activities at a local level achieved.

Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 36, 17-30, Recent work on early Anglo-Saxon pottery from Kent, Surrey and Sussex (including south London) is reviewed. Some conclusions regarding the character of pottery across the region are drawn together and suggestions are made for further research, focussing on themes of dating, production and imports.

Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 15, 43-43

Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 39, 17-28, During the medieval period a widespread pottery industry existed across south-east Wiltshire and east Dorset. Its origins may lie as early as the mid-late Saxon period, and by the 13th century it was supplying urban and rural sites across the region, with one known production centre at Laverstock, near Salisbury, and almost certainly others. The evidence for differential consumption of the industry's products by urban and rural populations is discussed.

Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 40, 101-102

Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 19, 29-44, Landscaping work in October 1992 to the rear of domestic properties bordering Ashampstead Common, near Newbury in Berkshire, uncovered large quantities of medieval pottery. Limited examination of the landscaped area in January 1993 demonstrated that at least two phases of medieval kiln were present on the site, beneath a very thin cover of ploughsoil, within archaeological contexts yielding large quantities of medieval pottery of late 12th- to 13th-century date.

Medieval Ceramics: Journal of the Medieval Ceramics Research Group, 37-38, 166-167

Astonishingly little is known about the early history of the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). To better understand their spatiotemporal spread across Eurasia and Africa, we radiocarbon dated presumed early chicken bones. The results indicate chickens were an Iron Age arrival to Europe and that there was a consistent time-lag of several centuries between their introduction to new regions and incorporation into the human diet. Well-dated evidence for Britain and mainland Europe suggests chickens were initially considered exotica and buried as individuals, were gradually incorporated into human funerary rites, and only much later came to be seen as just ‘food’.

Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 92, 65-96, An archaeological evaluation on land between Foxton and West Langton, near Market Harborough, Leicestershire, located up to seven Anglo-Saxon inhumation graves, representing part of a larger cemetery of late fifth and sixth century date. Whilst little human bone survived, there was also evidence for cremation burial in the cemetery. The grave goods, which include beads, brooches and other pieces of metalwork, suggest that three of the graves contained female burials, and one contained a dual female and male burial, the male being buried with a shield. A further inhumation grave, within the area of a Roman villa complex about 500m to the north, contained a Roman coin, although the previous finding of Anglo-Saxon pottery and metalwork at this location could indicate a second Anglo-Saxon burial ground. This grave is, therefore, of uncertain date.

Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 89, 165-178, An archaeological evaluation, at Oakham Castle, Rutland, confirmed the results of small-scale excavations undertaken within the inner bailey during the 1950s, by locating evidence of a passageway leading eastwards from the Great Hall through the service block. Other medieval stone structures were recorded within the inner bailey, but little dating evidence was found. A trench excavated across the line of an outer earthwork to the north found no evidence to determine its original date, which in its current form is almost certainly a nineteenth-century construction.

Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 89, 113-144, An excavation undertaken by Wessex Archaeology, on land off Grange Lane, Coston, Leicestershire, revealed evidence for activity from the prehistoric period onwards on the east bank of the River Eye. Residual worked flint is probably of Neolithic or Bronze Age date, whilst the ceramic assemblage indicates possible Romano-British occupation in the area during the third and fourth centuries AD. The main focus of activity dates, however, to the early to mid-Saxon and late Saxon periods. A sequence of ditched enclosures, post-holes (but no clear structures) and probable rubbish pits reflect agricultural settlement, possibly established in the seventh century, with some evidence for textile working, iron-smithing and trading links that extended beyond the local area. Occupation appears to have continued into the early eleventh century, with a subsequent Saxo-Norman and medieval settlement established on the west bank of the river, within the core of a known deserted (shrunken) medieval village. Evidence of ridge and furrow ploughing, surviving as extant earthworks, suggests the site on the east bank may have largely reverted to open fields at this time, prior to the construction of Coston Hall probably in the eighteenth century.

Excavation of an Early Beaker-Early Bronze Age funerary monument at Porton Down revealed an unusually complex burial sequence of 12 individuals, spanning four centuries, including eight neonates or infants and only one probable male, surrounded by a segmented ring-ditch. In the centre was a large grave which contained the disturbed remains of an adult female, accompanied by a Beaker, which had probably been placed within a timber chamber and later ‘revisited’ on one or more occasions. This primary burial and an antler pick from the base of the ring-ditch provided identical Early Beaker radiocarbon dates. Two burials were accompanied by a Food Vessel and a miniature Collared Urn respectively, others were unaccompanied, and there was a single and a double cremation burial, both within inverted Collared Urns. A C-shaped enclosure nearby may have been contemporary with the funerary monument, but its date and function are uncertain. Other features included an Early Neolithic pit which contained a significant assemblage of worked flint, and several Middle Bronze Age ditches and a Late Bronze Age ‘Wessex Linear’ ditch that reflect later prehistoric land divisions probably related to stock control.

Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 103, 117-132, The excavation of an area adjacent to Thrapston Road, Spaldwick, by Wessex Archaeology in 2010 revealed archaeological remains ranging in date from early prehistoric to post-medieval, but principally of the Iron Age and the Anglo-Saxon period. This article focuses on the evidence for Anglo-Saxon activity, which comprised small-scale 'industrial' use in the early/mid-Anglo-Saxon period, before the area was formally reorganised into tofts, each containing a rectangular post-built structure.

A programme of archaeological works, undertaken in advance of improvements to the A3 London to Portsmouth road at Hindhead, Surrey, saw the investigation of 21 mitigation sites along the proposed 6.7km route between Bramshott Common and Thursley.Although archaeological remains were relatively sparse along much of the route, a number of discoveries were made that add to the known archaeology of this part of Surrey. These included residual Neolithic finds, and the discovery of a small Middle/Late Bronze Age settlement towards the northern end of the route.The examination of peat deposits in Boundless Copse demonstrates initial formation in the Early–Middle Saxon period, and contains a record of local heathland expansion, development of beech woodland and increase of pastoral activity during the Late Saxon/medieval period. Field boundaries and land use divisions of probable post-medieval date were examined at various points along the route, and a number of lime kilns, shown to date from the early 17th to early 18th centuries, were excavated.

This volume brings together the results from the excavations at the former Imperial College Sports Ground, RMC Land and Land East of Wall Garden Farm, near the villages of Harlington and Sipson in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The excavations revealed parts of an archaeological landscape with a rich history of development from before 4000 BC to the post-medieval period. The opportunity to investigate two large areas of this landscape provided evidence for possible settlement continuity and shift over a period of 6000 years. Early to Middle Neolithic occupation was represented by a rectangular ditched mortuary enclosure and a large spread of pits, many containing deposits of Peterborough Ware pottery, flint and charred plant remains. A possible dispersed monument complex of three hengiform enclosures was associated with the rare remains of cremation burials radiocarbon dated to the Middle Neolithic. Limited Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age activity was identified, which is in stark contrast to the Middle to Late Bronze Age when a formalised landscape of extensive rectangular fields, enclosures, wells and pits was established. This major reorganised land division can be traced across the two sites and over large parts of the adjacent Heathrow terraces. A small, Iron Age and Romano-British nucleated settlement was constructed, with associated enclosures flanking a trackway. There were wayside inhumations, cremation burials and middens and more widely dispersed wells and quarries. Two possible sunken-featured buildings of early Saxon date were found. There was also a small cemetery. Subsequently, a middle Saxon and medieval field system of small enclosures and wells was established.