Archaeology in British Towns: From the Emperor Claudius to the Black Death

Over the last twenty-five years, archaeology has revolutionised our knowledge of the early history of towns in Britain. Patrick Ottaway examines the crucial work of the urban archaeologist during this period and considers a variety of long-term research programmes which have brought to light new information about towns and the lives of their inhabitants.
Beginning with the story of Britain's first town, the Roman colony at Colchester, Ottaway examines the course of urban development in the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods. He draws on research conducted at great historic centres, such as London and York, and at less prominent places, such as Hull, Perth and Aberdeen. As a background to the discoveries themselves, the book looks at the increasingly sophisticated archaeological techniques involved.
Archaeology in British Towns also looks at some of the problems of preserving the urban past, and includes two case studies in which the interest of archaeology and property development have clashed.