Place Names

We have mentioned place names several time in class, and archaeologists are always drawn to place name studies as a form of evidence for past settlement, particularly when tangible material remains are lacking! 

The University of Nottingham's Institute of Place Name Studies, holds a fantastic on-line resource in the form of searchable interactive maps of  place names of all ages and origins across England.  It is a spectacular resource, access it here.

On the subject of Scandinavian Place Name elements, usually taken as a sign of Norse settlement, the British Museum's Vikings Live initiative maintains an excellent interactive map of Scandinavian Place Names in Britain, which is here. 

The Ordnance Survey have a useful on-line glossary of Scandinavian Place Name elements (on their maps) - which is here - and a free e-book with more details of Scandinavian Place Names on OS mapping, which can be accessed from here.

Alcuin's Letter to Ethelred

In class this week I mentioned the letter sent by Alcuin, Archbishop of York, to Ethelred of Northumbria in 793, regarding the Norse raid on Lindisfarne.  If you are interested you can download the full text from here.

Assignment 4

The assignment for the next class, on Wednesday 5th November (the week of the 29th is half-term and there is no class) is focused on the Medieval countryside.  Take a look at Carenza Lewis’s lengthy but excellent account of the Middle Ages in the East Midlands, download from here.

• What are the key themes for the countryside? (eg nucleation of settlement, open field origins, settlement desertion, etc)
• Identify one or two key sites that Carenza uses to illustrate one theme and find out as much as you can about those sites.  Do you agree with her ideas and analysis? Why/why not?

Class 4: A Disputed Land, Saxons and Vikings

The slides for Class 4: Anglo-Saxons and Vikings in the East Midlands are available to download from here.

Half Term

Just a reminder that the week of  29th October is within Nottinghamshire Schools' Half Term Holidays and there is therefore no class on that day.  We pick up again on 5th November...

Assignments 3

This week's assignment, to be discussed at class on Wednesday 22nd October, concerns the Vikings in Derbyshire.  There are three papers to read, browse all three or take your pick.

First off, Prof Martin Biddle's ground breaking excavations at St Wystan's Church, Repton, published in summary in Antiquity, back in 1992.

Second, Prof Julian Richards's excavation of the nearby Viking Age cremation cemetery at Heath Wood, Ingleby - published in the Antiquaries Journal in 2004.

Finally, Prof Richard's insightful discussion of stereotyping of the Vikings - and what may have been the reality of their English incursions.

We will discuss the evidence from Repton and Ingleby for the Vikings in the East Midlands, whether it allows us to draw any general conclusions about the nature of their presence and try and figure out what really went on when the Great Army arrived in Derbyshire in Winter 873AD.

Class 3: Iron Age to Dark Age, Cultural Transitions

The slides for Class 3 are available to download from here.

This week the assignment concerns the archaeology of the Anglo Saxon period in the East Midlands. Choose at least one of the county-based essays below and read to get a flavour of the period in that county.

• Lincolnshire
• Derbyshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Leicestershire

You will want to make some notes on the themes of evidence for settlement, burial and the broad changes that take place over the period (notionally c400-c850 AD).  We'll spend some time considering these themes in the session on Wednesday 15th October.

You might also want to look at Chapter 7 of the East Midlands Research Framework, the Anglo-Saxon Period, by the late Alan Vince, to get an overall flavour of the period in the East Midlands.

Class 2: Early Prehistory

The slides for Class 2: Earlier Prehistory in the Midlands are available from here.

The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in the East Midlands

The Archaeology Of The East Midlands. An Archaeological Resource Assessment And Research Agenda is an English Heritage sponsored document, written by a number of local experts, which summarises the archaeological evidence for our region on a period by period basis.  It is an invaluable resource for studying the archaeology of the Midlands and we will dip into it from time to time.

Chapter Four, by Dr Patrick Clay of the University of Leicester, covers the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, a period of great and transformational change in technology, society and the way in which people thought about and used the land.  

This week's assignment, for discussion during our second class on 8th October, is to read the chapter, with particular attention to the three sections on Ceremonial and Burial Monuments.  In class we will discuss the nature of the evidence for this aspect of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age society in the Midlands and what changes can be seen over the period, so come prepared!

You can download the chapter in Adobe PDF format from here:

Chapter 4. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. By Patrick Clay

Course Information Sheet

Here is a digital copy of the Course Information Sheet for you to download and print if you wish.

• Archaeology of the East Midlands. Course Information Sheet, Radcliffe on Trent