Medieval Archaeology

This study presents a new regional history of the middle Tiber valley as a lens through which to view the emergence and transformation of the city of Rome from 1000 BC to AD 1000. Setting the ancient city within the context of its immediate territory, the authors reveal the diverse and enduring links between the metropolis and its hinterland.

The archaeology of the later Middle Ages is a comparatively new field of study in Britain. At a time when archaeoloy generally is experiencing a surge of popularity, our understanding of medieval settlement, artefacts, environment, buildings and landscapes has been revolutionised. Medieval archaeology is now taught widely throughout Europe and has secured a place in higer education's teaching across many disciplines. In this book Gerrard examines the long and rich intellectual heritage of later medieval archaeology in England, Scotland and Wales and summarises its current position. Written in three parts, the author first discusses the origins of antiquarian, Victorian and later studies and explores the pervasive influence of the Romantic Movement and the Gothic Revival. The ideas and achievements of the 1930s are singled out as a springboard for later methodological and conceptual developments. Part II examines the emergence of medieval archaeology as a more coherent academic subject in the post-war years, appraising major projects and explaining the impact of processual archaeology and the rescue movement in the period up to the mid-1980s. Finally the book shows the extent to which the philosophies of preservation and post-processual theoretical advances have begun to make themselves felt. Recent developments in key areas such as finds, settlements and buildings are all considered as well as practice, funding and institutional roles. Medieval Archaeology is a crucial work for students of medieval archaeology to read and will be of interest to archaeologists, historians and all who study or visit the monuments of the Middle Ages.

The aim of this book is to explore how medieval life was actually lived - how people were born and grew old, how they dressed, how they inhabited their homes, the rituals that gave meaning to their lives and how they prepared for death and the afterlife. Its fresh and original approach uses archaeological evidence to reconstruct the material practices of medieval life, death and the afterlife. Previous historical studies of the medieval "lifecycle" begin with birth and end with death. Here, in contrast, the concept of life course theory is developed for the first time in a detailed archaeological case study. The author argues that medieval Christian understanding of the "life course" commenced with conception and extended through the entirety of life, to include death and the afterlife. Five thematic case studies present the archaeology of medieval England (c.1050-1540 CE) in terms of the body, the household, the parish church and cemetery, and the relationship between the lives of people and objects. A wide range of sources is critically employed: osteology, costume, material culture, iconography and evidence excavated from houses, churches and cemeteries in the medieval English town and countryside. Medieval Life reveals the intimate and everyday relations between age groups, between the living and the dead, and between people and things.

Medieval archaeology is a relatively young discipline. It relies heavily on and contributes to the neighbouring disciplines of history and geography as well as certain of the natural sciences. The kinds of sources investigated in the context of medieval archaeology also cast light on many aspects of life in later centuries. The main sources used are: graveyards, churches and churchyards; castles and fortifications; rural and urban settlements; technical production sites and routes of communication. Closely allied to these are the numerous finds of small objects of everyday life, from cutlery and tools to animal remains and grain. This book is a comprehensive discussion of what can be established from the use of such materials about the culture and daily life of medieval Germany. Each subject is augmented with the use of many illustrations. Besides methodological questions, the author considers what can be learnt about the history of settlement and architecture, of technology, of economic and social matters, of churches and missions, and of population, diet and vegetation.

Clothing, jewelry, animal remains, ceramics, coins, and weaponry are among the artifacts that have been discovered in graves in Gaul dating from the fifth to eighth century. Those who have unearthed them, from the middle ages to the present, have speculated widely on their meaning. This authoritative book makes a major contribution to the study of death and burial in late antique and early medieval society with its long overdue systematic discussion of this mortuary evidence. Tracing the history of Merovingian archaeology within its cultural and intellectual context for the first time, Effros exposes biases and prejudices that have colored previous interpretations of these burial sites and assesses what contemporary archaeology can tell us about the Frankish kingdoms. Working at the intersection of history and archaeology, and drawing from anthropology and art history, Effros emphasizes in particular the effects of historical events and intellectual movements on French and German antiquarian and archaeological studies of these grave goods. Her discussion traces the evolution of concepts of nationhood, race, and culture and shows how these concepts helped shape an understanding of the past. Effros then turns to contemporary multidisciplinary methodologies and finds that we are still limited by the types of information that can be readily gleaned from physical and written sources of Merovingian graves. For example, since material evidence found in the graves of elite families and particularly elite men is more plentiful and noteworthy, mortuary goods do not speak as directly to the conditions in which women and the poor lived. The clarity and sophistication with which Effros discusses the methods and results of European archaeology is a compelling demonstration of the impact of nationalist ideologies on a single discipline and of the struggle toward the more pluralistic vision that has developed in the post-war years.

The first academic book concerning the most interesting archaeological discoveries of Medieval date (6th-mid 13th centuries) in Poland. The book is meant mainly for students, archaeologists and historians. It will also interest a wider audience interested in the history and archaeology of central Europe.

This volume draws examples of work from around the Mediterranean basin to demonstrate the variety of archaeological studies being carried out, and the benefits each of these studies has enjoyed through the use of an interdisciplinary approach.

This is the first reference work to cover the archaeology of medieval Europe. No other reference can claim such comprehensive coverage--from Ireland to Russia and from Scandinavia to Italy, the archaeology of the entirety of medieval Europe is discussed.

The Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy looks at the period between the reign of William the Conqueror and that of Henry VIII, bringing together physical evidence for the kings and their courts. John Steane looks at the symbols of power and regalia including crowns, seals and thrones. He considers Royal patronage, architecture and ideas on burials and tombs to unravel the details of their daily lives supported with many illustrations.