Excavations by Cotswold Archaeology at Mildenhall produced evidence for human activity from the Late Bronze Age to the medieval period. A Late Bronze Age waterhole backfilled with domestic refuse was excavated on the higher ground above the floodplain of the River Lark. The Middle Iron Age was a period of intense activity on the site, when a pair of massive ditches defined the eastern part of an enclosure, possibly built to dominate the crossing point of the River Lark. A third ditch of comparable size may date to the Middle or Late Iron Age. Numerous pits were found inside the enclosure, and a pair of very large post-settings were located between the paired ditches. A possible focus for settlement beyond the excavated area was suggested by the greater density of pits towards the west. The ditches fell out of use before the Roman period when a farmstead occupied the higher ground. In this period the flood plain was utilised with a series of field ditches, although the area was prone to flooding in the later Roman period. Throughout the Saxon period, the higher ground was farmed and use of the flood plain was limited by the wet environment. The evidence suggests there was a process of deliberate land reclamation on the floodplain during the medieval period, after which the area was divided into fields. On the higher ground, a large ditch running north to south may have marked the medieval town boundary, but this association is uncertain. Excavated evidence from this period represented activities undertaken on the periphery of settlement, including crop-processing, animal husbandry, and iron-working. A well-preserved kiln base may have been used for the production of lime, using chalk quarried from the edge of the higher ground. There was a rapid decline in use of the area from the 14th century onwards, and it remained farmland until recent times. There was good preservation of environmental evidence from all periods, and the sizeable assemblages of animal bone and crop waste allowed comparisons to be made in farming practices over time. The assemblage of decorated Middle Iron Age pottery from the site is the largest found in the region to date.

This is the first book for a generation on medieval agriculture in Wales, presenting evidence which is of considerable relevance to those studying the development of the early medieval landscapes of England and Ireland. This collection of essays confronts the paradox that, though agriculture lay at the heart of medieval society, understanding of what this meant for Wales remains limited. The papers address key questions that include: how did the agricultural systems of Wales operate between c. 400 and 1600 AD? What light do they cast on the material evidence for life in the contemporary landscape? How similar or different was Wales to other areas of Britain and Ireland? Can we identify change over time? How do we go about researching early Welsh agriculture? These issues are explored through new syntheses and case studies focused on Wales, and contextualising overviews of medieval agricultural systems in Ireland and England written by leading experts. Themes covered include the use of infield-outfield systems, seasonal land use and its impact on territorial and estate structures, and regional variation, all explored using a wide array of complementary multidisciplinary approaches. The introduction, written by the editors Rhiannon Comeau and Andy Seaman, gives context to the historiography, key debates, themes and issues surrounding this topic. The book also includes an afterword written by Professor Andrew Fleming.

Excavations at Chalk Hill, Ramsgate in south-eastern Britain were primarily aimed at investigating the remains of a possible early Neolithic causewayed enclosure visible on aerial photographs. However, the monument could not in fact be categorised as a causewayed enclosure, but instead represented a type of early Neolithic ritual monument unique to the British Isles.The earliest significant features recorded on the site dated to the early Neolithic (roughly 3700–3600 cal BC). They took the form of three concentric arcs of intercutting pit clusters forming discrete ‘segments’, the fills of which produced rich assemblages of pottery, flintwork, animal bone and other material. Much of this material appeared to have been deliberately placed in the pits rather than representing casual disposal of refuse. There are indications that material placed in different pits at different times may have derived from the same source, a ‘midden’ or some such which was not located during the excavations. The pit clusters appeared to have resulted from repeated pit-digging in the same location over an extended period of time. The site therefore contributes a more nuanced understanding of the heterogeneity of monumental architecture in the early Neolithic of the British Isles.This report is therefore critical for understanding the early Neolithisation of southern Britain, the relations between Neolithic incomers and indigenous Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, the potential creolisation of different cultural groups and cross-Channel relations in the early 4th Millennium BC.The site probably went out of use in around 3600 cal BC, and subsequent use of the landscape in the Bronze Age and later periods is evocative of the perception of ‘special places’ in the landscape long after they were abandoned.With contributions by Enid Allison, Alex Bayliss, Robin Bendrey, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Kate Clark, Alex Gibson, Chris Green, Louise Harrison, Frances Healy, Linda Hurcombe, Rob Ixer, Jacqueline McKinley, Barbara McNee, Ruth Pelling, Nicola Powell, Louise Rayner, Paula Reimer, Johannes van der Plicht, Alasdair Whittle and Tania Wilson

Details results of excavations along the A477 from St Clears to Red Roses during the Road Improvement Scheme, 2012. Finds include a Mesolithic site in the lower Tâf valley; early Neolithic pits and a post-built structure at Cildywyll; the remains of an Early Bronze Age barrow, 38 burials (some urned), a pyre site, and a Middle Bronze Age drying oven near St Clears; and A Bronze Age burnt mound near Red Roses.

During the late 1st millennium BC into the early 1st millennium AD, the small island of Unst in the far north of the Shetland (and British) Isles was home to well-established and connected farming and fishing communities. The Iron Age settlement at Milla Skerra was occupied for at least 500 years before it was covered with storm-blown sand and abandoned. Although part of it had been lost to the sea, excavation revealed many details of the life of the settlement and how it was reused over many generations. From the middle of the 1st millennium BC people were constructing stone-walled yards and filling them with hearth waste and midden material. Later inhabitants built a house on top, with a paved floor and successive hearths, and more domestic rubbish accumulated inside it. Outside were new yards and workshops for crafts and metalworking, which were remodelled several times. The buildings fell into disrepair and became a dumping ground for domestic waste until the 2nd or 3rd century AD, when sand buried the settlement. Within a few generations, a man was buried beside the ruins along with some striking objects. Thousands of artefacts and environmental remains from Milla Skerra reveal the everyday practices and seasonal rhythms of the people that lived in this windswept and remote island settlement and their connections to both land and sea.

Eight sites were excavated along the route of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route between Balmedy to Tipperty. The sites are mostly multi-period. One site on the banks of the River Dee, revealed nine phases of activity extending from the Upper Palaeolithic through to the post-Medieval. Extensive specialist analysis has been undertaken on all sites, along with a programme of radiocarbon dating, OSL dating and Bayesian analysis. During the excavations, it was apparent how the specific landscape of each site was key to the activities taking place there, the periods and duration of activity and the extent to which people were passing through or settling. This was chosen as the overarching theme for analysis and publication, and the geological and topographical background is woven through the presentation of each site. Broadly speaking, the landscape ‘units’ identified were the River Dee valley, the Dee-Don uplands, a second upland zone around one specific site, the River Don valley, and the coastal plains. In addition to the individual site- evidence, a concluding chapter expands on three themes highlighted through the work; Mobility (looking at the temporary/permanent nature of interaction), ‘Gaps’ (periods of time or parts of the landscape which seem unexpectedly blank and the reasons for this), and Methodologies (looking at the specific methods used to identify, test and excavate the sites and consider learnings for future linear projects). Full versions of all specialist reports, the original assessment reports and relevant catalogues are provided digitally through ADS and cross-referenced throughout the text.

Two enclosures were recorded – near Rodway was discovered a small Middle Bronze Age farmstead containing evidence of two roundhouses, with associated pottery and plant remains; and at Sandy Lane a Roman villa was shown to have developed from a Late Iron Age ridge-top settlement.

Excavations at East Winch on the Greensand Belt in north-west Norfolk, revealed a Romano-British pottery production site — part of the Nar Valley industry — as well as more limited evidence of iron smelting and possible habitation. The principal features were a trackway, potentially linking the site to the nearby iron smelting site at Ashwicken, and part of a ditched enclosure containing an aisled building, a stone-founded workshop, four Nar Valley kilns and a drying oven. The pottery assemblage adds considerably to our understanding of this industry. Of principal importance is the occurrence within the pottery assemblage of tightly dated imports which assist in developing a chronology for the Nar Valley industry. Archaeomagnetic dating of one of the kilns indicated a last firing at some point between AD 200 and 250. A decline in pottery production in the later Roman period seems to have coincided with a renewed emphasis on iron smelting nearby and the disposal of quantities of tap slag on site.

This volume reports on excavation and standing building recording survey carried out by Pre-Construct Archaeology between 2000 and 2004 within Alnwick Castle’s walled kitchen garden. The gardens, first established in 1760, formed a small part of the castle grounds and parkland designed by the pre-eminent architect of the period, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. The book charts the changing fortunes of the garden, including detailed descriptions and illustrations of the layout of successive gardens and of the hothouses and conservatories which supplied the household with fresh produce and flowers. These are set alongside discussions of the plants and produce grown and the people who worked there, concluding with a consideration of the garden in its wider landscape setting.

This report presents evidence for the discovery of Late Bronze Age hoards in Norfolk before 1950. Three of the finds were made during the eighteenth century, possibly a dozen more during the nineteenth century, and a further three during the first half of the twentieth century. The evidence has been derived from the historic manuscripts, correspondence, drawings and publications of a small group of antiquaries, most of whom lived in the county. Short biographies of the principal antiquaries are presented. A review of the discoveries made after 1950 notes the acceleration in the rate of new finds, especially from the 1970s when the use of metal-detectors became popular in Norfolk. The first report of a new Late Bronze Age hoard site in Norfolk, marking the start of the ‘metal-detector era’, was made on 16 September 1977, and thereafter the majority of new hoard finds have been made by detectorists. The enhancement of the collection of bronzes from a site at Snettisham (IV), as well as the discoveries of new hoards at Snettisham (V), Hockwold and Great Melton, all with the use of detectors, are described to illustrate the range of objects that may have occurred in the earlier discoveries. Only two of the hoards described were made up of weapons, the others being of mixed composition with variable numbers of tools, weapons and industrial products. Although a few of the individual components may have originated in the Penard, Wilburton or Blackmoor phases of the British Late Bronze Age, and a few in the later Llyn Fawr phase, the majority of the finds are attributed to the Ewart Park phase of the ninth and tenth centuries (cal) BC, some with Carp’s Tongue (or Boughton-Vėnat) affinities.

Much has been written on marine fishing and for the migratory eel and salmon. Less attention has focused on the obligate freshwater species, primarily the native pike, perch, cyprinids and introduced species of which the most significant is carp. Their exploitation by man has changed from food to sport more dramatically in England and the British Isles than in Europe. They have also been used as elite statements, symbols of lineage, in religion and art. Much of the early evidence is confined to fish bones from archaeological sites and indicators of diet from isotopic analyses of human bones. From the Medieval period these data sources are increasingly complemented and ultimately superseded by documentary sources and material culture. The bones are relatively few from prehistoric contexts and mostly food waste. In the Mesolithic the bones are largely marine from middens on Scottish coasts, while early farmers apparently ate few fish of any type. Examples from European prehistoric sites demonstrate other cultural attitudes to fish. Both marine and freshwater fish bones are more numerous from Roman sites. There are regional and site type differences, but Roman influence appears to have increased fish consumption, though obligate freshwater species remain relatively few. The first evidence is seen for fishponds, probably ornamental. Angling was a noted sport elsewhere in the Empire, but there is no evidence in Britain. In Saxon England the exploitation and management of waterways and the beginnings of the privatization of the landscape, included enclosure of waters as fish stores. This previewed an elite practice of the Medieval period in which landscape features and documentary evidence demonstrate the importance of pond systems among a small section of elite medieval society and for whom these fish were an important part of feast and fast food and gift exchange. However quantitatively marine fish had dominated the fish supply from the late 10th century. The first documentary evidence for freshwater angling in England appears in the Medieval period, revealing an established sport through an oral tradition. The arrival of the common carp, in the 14th century, marks a change in pond culture, it soon became the favourite fish. By the early modern period freshwater fish are in slow decline on the table, though landscape water features evolve in style. The popularity of angling is reflected in the growing commercialisation of tackle and angling books initially marketed at gentlemen of means. The industrialisation and urbanisation of the 18th and 19th centuries created a new landless, ‘working class’ with whom coarse fishing became synonymous and came to represent a social divide with fly fishing viewed as more elite. Freshwater fish were never to revive as a table fish, but were ever popular as sport. Record carp have become the quest for many specimen anglers practicing catch-and-release, more prevalent in Britain than Europe. The development of coarse angling reflects social and cultural changes in society in England at many levels.

Excavations by Oxford Archaeology in advance of a programme of improvements to the railway between Bicester and Oxford investigated part of the south-eastern extramural settlement associated with the Roman fortress and subsequent town at Alchester, Oxfordshire, as well as rural settlements in its rural hinterland. The investigations at Alchester extended across two successive routes south to Dorchester-on-Thames, the earlier of which by-passed the eastern side of Otmoor and was superseded by a more direct route across the moor at the end of the 1st century AD. Settlement beside the earlier road may have been a successor to a pre-Roman settlement and appears from artefactual evidence to have been of quite high status during the initial, military phase, although no contemporary structural evidence was found. Stone-founded buildings were constructed during the late 1st-early 2nd century, including two single-celled structures of uncertain function that may represent a gatehouse or a pair of shrines. The buildings were demolished by c AD 200, when the area was abandoned. An insight into the diverse lives of the inhabitants is provided by finds that included part of a priestly headdress, two pairs of slave shackles and a group of roof tiles bearing the footprints of a young child. The extramural settlement may have been partly rural in character, involved in farming the landscape around the town, which was intensively managed for agricultural production, probably as meadow and pasture. Ditched enclosures beside the later road may have been part of a second extramural area or a discrete farming establishment. No buildings were identified but two large pits contained domestic refuse and building material. Excavations at six other locations investigated farmsteads that dated from the middle Iron Age to the 3rd century AD and included a rare deposit of debris from copper and iron working from a middle Iron Age enclosure ditch.

Between 2006 and 2009 Worcestershire Archaeology completed a series of investigations in advance of quarrying at Clifton Quarry, Worcestershire revealing one of the most important sequences of prehistoric to early medieval activity discovered to date from the Central Severn Valley. Well-preserved palaeoenvironmental deposits were recovered from features and associated abandoned channels of the River Severn. Analysis of this evidence is underpinned by a comprehensive programme of scientific dating, providing a record of changing patterns of landuse and activity from the Late Mesolithic onwards. Significant discoveries included a series of Grooved Ware pits and an extensive area of Early to Middle Iron Age activity. One of the Grooved pits was of particular importance as it contained an exceptionally rich material assemblage comprising two whole and four fragmentary polished axes, numerous flint tools and debitage, significant quantities of Durrington Walls and Clacton Style pottery, and abundant charred barley grains and crab apple fragments. The Early to Middle Iron Age activity was notable since unusually for a lowland site it was dominated by in excess of 100 four-post granary structures and 130 pits. The full extent of the activity was not established but it appears unenclosed and it is suggested that this represents the specialised storage zone of a much larger settlement. Phases of activity on the floodplain and terraces adjacent to the river also included a Bronze Age burnt mound with associated pits and a trough, a scatter of Romano-British features and an early medieval timber-lined structure associated with flax retting.

Love’s Farm, St Neots, lies on the claylands near the western boundary of Cambridgeshire. Fieldwork conducted over 60ha by the county field unit, CAM ARC (now Oxford Archaeology East), followed geophysical survey, fieldwalking and evaluation. This extensive project permitted a detailed archaeological examination of a later prehistoric and Roman agricultural landscape on a previously unprecedented scale within the county. Evidence was revealed for the exploitation of the area in early prehistory, with field systems present from the middle Iron Age, if not before. By the late Iron Age, several farmsteads were set within what may have been three ‘landholdings’, bounded to the south by a major routeway previously identified as a possible Roman road. Dominant features were a large square enclosure and a subsequent sub-circular monument, positioned on a ridge overlooking the settlements. Given its location close to major routes, the site was ideally situated to provide evidence for the impact of the Roman conquest and the influence of Romanisation on the countryside. Although little trace of the disruption of everyday life was noted, metalwork with military associations was found. Many of the finds show a distinct bias towards votive offerings, providing new insights into local religious observance. At around the time of the conquest, the minor farmsteads fell from use and activities eventually coalesced into two settlements: one which developed from an Iron Age farm and the other effectively a ‘new’ foundation that burgeoned in the 4th century. The older of the two settlements was abandoned in the late 4th century, while the other apparently remained in use into the early Anglo-Saxon period. The site eventually became medieval fields, although some of the ancient hedgerow boundaries survived. This publication seeks to illustrate the site’s character and to examine its social, economic and morphological development in its wider context. The archaeological remains unearthed at the site link to a wide range of issues that have the potential to enhance current understanding of social organisation and the evolution of the countryside. The results shed significant new light on the past of this previously little-known part of the Cambridgeshire landscape that was once thought to be cold, wet and uninviting.

The late Iron Age oppidum of Calleva underlies the Roman town at Silchester. Excavation (1997-2014) of a large area (0.3ha) of Insula IX revealed evidence of a rectilinear, NE/SW-NW/SE-oriented layout of the interior of the oppidum, dating from 20/10BC, with the remains of the larger part of one compound separated from its neighbours by fenced trackways. Within the compound was a large, 47.5m long hall surrounded by smaller, rectangular buildings associated with groups of rubbish pits. A concluding discussion characterises the oppidum, integrating and contextualising a series of major contributions reporting the pre-conquest finds and environmental evidence with the structural story.

The valley floodplain landscape covered by the Gill Mill quarry, almost 130ha, was intensively exploited from about 300 BC at a variety of Iron Age settlements. The largest of these remained in occupation into the early 3rd century AD, but meanwhile a large nucleated settlement grew up around a road junction roughly 1km distant to the NW. This became the sole focus of occupation, covering an area of about 10ha. Featuring multiple ditched enclosures, some in very regular layouts associated with one of the roads, the settlement contained relatively few identified buildings and appears to have had a specialised economic role related to systematic cattle management, illuminated in part by large finds and environmental assemblages. It may have been an integral component of a wider estate holding and perhaps had an administrative focus (including a shrine) at its unexcavated centre. It is notable that occupation of the site had almost entirely ceased by about AD 370.