Medieval TownsArchaeologists have shown that towns can claim to be more representative of the nature of society of which they formed part than any other type of site. In towns we are most likely to find archaeological evidence of both long-distance and local trade, of exploitation of natural resources, of specialization and of technological evidence in manufacturing, of social differentiation, of the means of political control, and of the religious aspirations of the population. Medieval Towns is the second and enlarged edition of the book Medieval Towns that was published in 1994 by Continuum. It surveys recent work on the archaeological study of medieval towns in Britain. Its emphasis is on the discoveries by archaeological teams, nearly always on sites to be developed or already under construction. From the vast haul of information now at our disposal, after thirty years of data gathering, we can begin to ask questions of many kinds. What went on in medieval towns? How did the rich and poor live, what nourished them, what did they die of? What was the weather like, the quality of life, the restrictions or special pleasures of living in towns? |
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Alms Lane animal Archaeol archaeological evidence artefacts bones Bristol Britain British burials Canterbury castle cathedral cemetery centre cesspits chapel City of London clay coins construction countryside crafts defences dendrochronology deposits ditch documentary sources domestic early eleventh century England especially example excavations fifteenth century Figure fourteenth century friaries frontage function Gascony gates groups guild hall hearth important industry instance kilns King's Lynn late medieval later Lincoln London Archaeology Service major medieval period medieval towns medieval urban Monpazier Museum of London Norwich Oxford parish churches Phase pits pollen pottery priory probably produced properties raw materials recorded religious houses revetments river Roman rural Saxon Schofield settlement Southampton St Nicholas Shambles stone buildings strata structures suburbs suggested survive tenements thirteenth century tiles timber town's trade twelfth century types undercrofts urban archaeology walls ware waterfront Winchester York York Archaeological Trust zone