Farmers, Monks and Aristocrats
eBook - ePub

Farmers, Monks and Aristocrats

The environmental archaeology of Anglo-Saxon Flixborough

K. M. Dobney, D. Jaques, James Barrett, Cluny Johnstone, D. Jaques, James Barrett

Share book
  1. 306 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Farmers, Monks and Aristocrats

The environmental archaeology of Anglo-Saxon Flixborough

K. M. Dobney, D. Jaques, James Barrett, Cluny Johnstone, D. Jaques, James Barrett

Book details
Book preview
Table of contents
Citations

About This Book

The environmental archaeological evidence from the site of Flixborough (in particular the animal bone assemblage) provides a series of unique insights into Anglo-Saxon life in England during the 8th to 10th centuries. The research reveals detailed evidence for the local and regional environment, many aspects of the local and regional agricultural economy, changing resource exploitation strategies and the extent of possible trade and exchange networks. Perhaps the most important conclusions have been gleaned from the synthesis of these various lines of evidence, viewed in a broader archaeological context. Thus, bioarchaeological data from Flixborough have documented for the first time, in a detailed and systematic way, the significant shift in social and economic aspects of wider Anglo-Saxon life during the 9th century AD., and comment on the possible role of external factors such as the arrival of Scandinavians in the life and development of the settlement. The bioarchaeological evidence from Flixborough is also used to explore the tentative evidence revealed by more traditional archaeological materials for the presence during the 9th century of elements of monastic life. The vast majority of bioarchaeological evidence from Flixborough provides both direct and indirect evidence of the wealth and social standing of some of the inhabitants as well as a plethora of unique information about agricultural and provisioning practices associated with a major Anglo-Saxon estate centre. The environmental archaeological record from Flixborough is without doubt one of the most important datasets of the early medieval period, and one which will provide a key benchmark for future research into many aspects of early medieval archaeology.

Frequently asked questions

How do I cancel my subscription?
Simply head over to the account section in settings and click on ā€œCancel Subscriptionā€ - itā€™s as simple as that. After you cancel, your membership will stay active for the remainder of the time youā€™ve paid for. Learn more here.
Can/how do I download books?
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
What is the difference between the pricing plans?
Both plans give you full access to the library and all of Perlegoā€™s features. The only differences are the price and subscription period: With the annual plan youā€™ll save around 30% compared to 12 months on the monthly plan.
What is Perlego?
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, weā€™ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Do you support text-to-speech?
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Is Farmers, Monks and Aristocrats an online PDF/ePUB?
Yes, you can access Farmers, Monks and Aristocrats by K. M. Dobney, D. Jaques, James Barrett, Cluny Johnstone, D. Jaques, James Barrett in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Archaeology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Oxbow Books
Year
2007
ISBN
9781782974840

1 Introduction and Research Objectives

Keith Dobney and Christopher Loveluck

1.1 Introduction

Between 1989 and 1991, excavations within the parish of Flixborough, North Lincolnshire, uncovered the remains of an exceptionally wealthy Anglo-Saxon settlement, 8km south of the Humber estuary, overlooking the floodplain of the River Trent (FIG. 1.1). Analysis has demonstrated that the excavated part of the settlement was occupied, or used for settlement-related activity, throughout the Middle and Late Saxon periods (see Loveluck and Atkinson in Volume 1, Chapter 4). In an unprecedented vertical stratigraphic sequence from an Anglo-Saxon rural settlement, six main periods of occupation were identified, with additional sub-phases, dating from the early seventh to the early eleventh century, and a further period of High Medieval activity. The remains of approximately forty buildings and other structures were uncovered, and vast quantities of artefacts and animal bones were retrieved. Together, the different forms of evidence and their depositional circumstances provide an unprecedented picture of nearly all aspects of daily life during the Middle and Late Saxon periods, on a settlement which probably housed elements of the contemporaneous social elite amongst the spectrum of its inhabitants. Furthermore, and perhaps even more importantly, the detailed analysis of the remains also provides indications of how the character of occupation changed radically during the second half of the first millennium. The reasons for these changes are a matter for detailed debate in both this and the other volumes of the Flixborough publications (see particularly Volume 4).
The bioarchaeological evidence, the principal focus of this volume, addresses a variety of issues, many of which, not surprisingly, relate to economic and environmental aspects of the settlement itself. This traditional view of the role of environmental archaeology has, however, sadly hampered the realisation of its broader potential in addressing a much wider range of important archaeological questions. The full exploration and subsequent integration of bioarchaeological evidence is, therefore, still rare in many reports and publications. This volume attempts to move away from the rather standardised presentation and discussion of bioarchaeological data (usually as distinctly separate classes of informationā€“i.e. by species or higher taxa) that has been the norm for some considerable time. Although much of the same evidence is still presented, the structure of the volume is set out in such a way as to further explore broader archaeological themes, many of which have relevance beyond the so-called perceived ā€˜specialistā€™ fields of zooarchaeology or archaeobotany.

1.2 Research Objectives

Despite the existence of written sources, and decades of excavation, our current, somewhat limited, knowledge of the dynamics of Middle and Late Saxon economics in England, render any research into the archaeology of this period of national priority. The quality of the archaeological evidence contained within the settlement sequence at Flixborough is, therefore, particularly important for both the examination of site-specific issues, and for the investigation of wider research themes and problems currently facing Middle and Late Anglo-Saxon settlement studies. For example, with regard to site-specific research, the remains provide an exceptional opportunity for reconstructing the changing character of the settlementā€™s economy, and aspects of its relationships with its surrounding landscape and region. Whereas, at a broader level, amongst other themes, the wider comparison of the traits evident at Flixborough enables a re-assessment of the problems of defining the status and character of Middle and Late Saxon rural settlements from their archaeological remains. At the same time, it is also possible that certain observable trends in the evidence reflect the changing relationships between rural and urban settlements in the period between the eighth and eleventh centuries.
A range of broad and more specific academic objectives which the various bioarchaeological (and other) remains could help to address, were outlined in the original material assessment report (Whitwell 1994). These can be summarised as follows:
  • ā€“determine structural details of buildings through surviving structural materials such as wood and roofing materials
  • ā€“establish the range of activities represented by the various bioarchaeological remains recovered from the site
  • ā€“determine the extent to which individual buildings or areas can be associated with specific activities or functions
  • ā€“establish fluctuations in the character of occupation
  • ā€“determine any evidence for planning or organisation of the site
  • ā€“consider the status of the settlement, particularly in relation to the suggested religious and/or aristocratic connections
  • ā€“determine the place of Flixborough in the local manorial, administrative and ecclesiastical hierarchy
  • ā€“attempt to ā€˜placeā€™ Flixborough into its local topographic context by understanding the contemporary surrounding environment
  • ā€“establish Flixboroughā€™s position in the regional economy of Lindsey (including consideration of locally and regionally traded goods
  • ā€“establish ā€˜finds profilesā€™ for Flixborough and other relevant sites in the UK and on the continent
  • ā€“elucidate evidence for cultural trading and political links with Lindsey and further afield
  • ā€“conduct a re-assessment of the concept of ā€˜high-statusā€™ Mid-Saxon sites.
More specific avenues of potential for the bioarchaeological remains were highlighted in the updated project design subsequently submitted to English Heritage (Loveluck 1996). These included investigation of:
  • ā€“the various components of the agrarian economy (animal husbandry as well as the arable and horticultural aspects)
  • ā€“the exploitation of woodland resources (for construction purposes and fuel)
  • ā€“the environmental conditions in the vicinity of the settlement
  • ā€“the relationship between the settlement and its immediate hinterland
  • ā€“the patterns of consumption
  • ā€“the character and status of the settlement as a producing and/or consuming community within the local Mid-Saxon settlement hierarchy.
The nature and extent to which the various bioarchaeological groups of material (animals and plants) can address these questions rests on the quality of the surviving evidence, which, in the case of Flixborough, is extremely variable. The identifiable charred plant assemblage was very small and represented in only a few restricted contexts. As a result, charred plant remains have provided very little information on arable and horticultural practices at the site (Chapter 7). They did, however, provide invaluable evidence (along with molluscs) for a specific resource exploitation of the nearby coastal saltmarshes (see Chapter 8). Charcoal provided some useful hints as to what kinds of wood were used for fuel and for structural purposes (Chapter 8), whilst (with the animal bones), molluscs and charred plant remains enabled a plausible (and in some cases detailed) view of aspects of the early medieval environment to be reconstructed (Chapter 5).
As previously mentioned, however, it is the zooarchaeological assemblage (including marine molluscs) which has provided the most comprehensive basis for addressing the greatest number of the research questions outlined above. For Britain as a whole (and particularly the north of England), well-dated vertebrate assemblages of early medieval date are somewhat limited in number and distribution. Problems with site visibility, context integrity, scale of excavation, length of occupation sequences and dating have rendered many of these assemblages of limited interpretative value, whilst the study of specifically Middle to Late Saxon animal bones has also been biased by the rarity of sites, and by a focus towards the excavation of monastic centres. Sites where large vertebrate assemblages can be linked with good vertical stratigraphy and dating evidence, and where material has been recovered using systematic procedures involving sieving and sampling (as at Flixborough), are, therefore, extremely important.
The vertebrate remains are of particular value for the investigation of the specific facets of the economy of such a settlement, especially animal husbandry (Chapter 7), exploitation of wild vertebrate resources (Chapter 8), and trade and exchange links (Chapter 9). However, these and more fundamental questions relating to the nature and character of the settlement (Chapter 10) can only be framed and subsequently addressed within an established research framework linked to our current understanding of the Middle to Late Saxon period in Englandā€“a brief summary of which follows.

Rural settlements

Although it is still uncertain how, or if, Mid-Saxon (7th-8th centuries AD) rural estate holdings were different to those of the Early Saxon period, it is generally assumed that a similar territorial structure to that of the Late Roman period still existed. By the Mid-Saxon period, extant documentary evidence appears to confirm this assumption and indicates the existence of the large estates incorporating within them a mosaic of resource areas. However, during the Mid-Saxon period we see, not only an increase in general size of these estates, but also increasing complexity in land-holding with the introduction of bocland. This development witnesses the beginnings of ecclesiastical estates under charter, whereby Kings and secular aristocrats donated large estates or portions of them to the church. As a result, the new monastic estates, as well as old established secular aristocratic land-holdings, subsumed large adjacent territories, as well as smaller far-flung holdings, with rights of access to certain resources (e.g. domestic livestock, wild terrestrial and marine resources, and woodland).
e9781782974840_i0002.webp
FIG. 1.1 Location Map (M. Frankland).
From circa mid ninth century AD, (Late Saxon/Anglo-Scandinavian period), these large monastic and secular estates began to be broken up into smaller territorial holdings. In the north of England, this occurred as a result of a combination of factors. The first and perhaps most obvious, was the settling of the ā€˜Great Armyā€™ in AD 876. However, the jealousy of the secular aristocrats towards large ecclesiastical estates may have contributed in some degree to their reduction in size, perhaps through the deliberate confiscation of land in areas not affected by Viking raids. Changes in the patterns of land-holding, however, appear to have already begun in the early ninth century, heralding a period of major social and economic upheaval.
During the tenth century (by and large), the pattern of land ownership appears to be reflected by much smaller secular estate holdings and monastic estates than those of the Mid-Saxon period. Direct consequences of this must have been the dislocation from previous far-flung holdings and rights of access to a range of resources. This would have resulted in a change in the production/ subsistence pattern towards a more intensive system and the need for more trade. Through the 10thā€“11th centuries, elite groups (Anglo-Scandinavians in the north) were linked with enlarged secular aristocratic estates.
The historical evidence for hierarchies of sites bound together on large estates provides ideal opportunities to study their inter-relationships. The movements of products (such as domestic and wild animals) in the form of taxation/renders to high-status estate centres like Flixborough, is certainly something that can help explore further the nature and character of Anglo-Saxon ā€˜clientshipā€™. The presence of numerous wild species (particularly birds and fish) in the Flixborough assemblage, as well as providing a superb opportunity to explore the palaeoecology of the vicinity of the site, allows a more thorough definition of the different territories that were exploited by its inhabitants.

The emporia and urban development

Our understanding of so-called ā€˜proto-urbanā€™ settlements in the north of England is severely hampered by extremely small numbers of sites and their associated samples of vertebrate remains. For the Mid-Saxon period, the only such site is Fishergate, Yorkā€“assumed to be the wic or emporium (trading centre) known as Eoforwic. Archaeological evidence of wics throughout England indicates direct evidence of trading and craft specialisation. The nature of occupation at these sites is not well understood, and it is not clear whether they were occupied permanently, or at intervals throughout the year, or even who inhabited them. It appears to be the case (from documentary evidence on tenurial structure) that these were externally provisioned from their rural hinterlands. A tenuous case for this has been made for the vertebrate remains from Fishergate (Oā€™Connor 2001).
The nature of the relationship between the Mid-Saxon emporia and their rural hinterlands, whether with high-status monastic or secular estates such as Flixborough, is still unclear. A number of clues can be gleaned from, for example, specialist craft activities which although present at wic sites, can also be demonstrated at rural sites such as Flixborough (for more detailed evidence of these see Volume 4). Luxury imported commodities (e.g. pottery and lava quernstones) were also reaching a wide range of sites in the immediate hinterlands of the wics, especially so-called high-status centres (such as Flixborough). This almost certainly reflects direct contact occurring along the coast and major estuaries (in the case of eastern England, both north and south of the Humber). It is, therefore, likely that the movement and importation of luxury commodities in the region was directly controlled by Anglo-Saxon kings and their trading posts. These emporia or wics were probably trading settlements partly fulfilling a customs and excise role, (in order to control supplies of important commodities and, at the same time, levy duties upon them), as well as being limited production centres.
The development of the major urban centres such as Jorvik (York) and Lincoln, during the Late Saxon/Anglo-Scandinavian period in the north of England, and the role they played in transforming the political and economic status of the Saxon estate structure, is still not well understood. During this period, it is apparent that a major decrease in specialist craft activities occurs in the rural estate centres, with large-scale specialist craft activities and production shifting into the developing towns. At the same time, imported luxury commodities also become concentrated in these new urban centres, and do not appear to be widely dispersed into the hinterland, even at high-status rural settlements such as Flixborough. This implies that perhaps the importation and distribution of luxury commodities were at that time controlled by Scandinavians within the towns. This could also be the case for agricultural surplus and access to higher-status resources such as wild game.
At the same time, expressions of wealth and status by rural estate holders may have altered significantly. Aspects of this could well be reflected in changes in the consumption of regional resources from more local estate holdings (e.g. increased numbers of livestock and/or of more commonly occurring wild resources such as wildfowl). Comparisons between the vertebrate assemblages from Flixborough and Anglo-Scandinavian York and Lincoln would help resolve these questions.
In certain aspects of material culture therefore, the Anglo-Sc...

Table of contents