The Fields of Britannia : Continuity and Change in the Late Roman and Early Medieval Landscape

It Has Long Been Recognized That The Landscape Of Britain Is One Of The 'richest Historical Records We Possess', But Just How Old Is It? 'the Fields Of Britannia' Is The First Book To Explore How Far The Countryside Of Roman Britain Has Survived In Use Through To The Present Day, Shaping The Character Of Our Modern Countryside. Commencing With A Discussion Of The Differing Views Of What Happened To The Landscape At The End Of Roman Britain, The Volume Then Brings Together The Results From Hundreds Of Archaeological Excavations And Palaeoenvironmental Investigations In Order To Map Patterns Of Land-use Across Roman And Early Medieval Britain. In Compiling Such Extensive Data, The Volume Is Able To Reconstruct Regional Variations In Romano-british And Early Medieval Land-use Using Pollen, Animal Bones, And Charred Cereal Grains To Demonstrate That Agricultural Regimes Varied Considerably And Were Heavily Influenced By Underlying Geology. We Are Shown That, In The Fifth And Sixth Centuries, There Was A Shift Away From Intensive Farming But Very Few Areas Of The Landscape Were Abandoned Completely. What Is Revealed Is A Surprising Degree Of Continuity: The Roman Empire May Have Collapsed, But British Farmers Carried On Regardless, And The Result Is That Now, Across Large Parts Of Britain, Many Of These Roman Field Systems Are Still In Use. -- Stephen Rippon, Chris Smart, And Ben Pears. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 343-438) And Index. Cover The Fields of Britannia: Continuity and Change in the Late Roman and Early Medieval Landscape Copyright Dedication Preface and Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures Chapter1 Chapter2 Chapter3 Chapter4 Chapter5 Chapter6 Chapter7 Chapter8 Chapter9 Chapter10 Chapter11 Chapter12 List of Tables List of Appendices List of Abbreviations Note on Period and Other Terminology Presentational Conventions 1: Fields of Britannia Britain ́s Green and Pleasant Land Perspectives on an Age of Transition The End of Roman Britain A `Late Antique ́ Landscape? Native Britons and Anglo-Saxons in Lowland Britain The Fields of Britannia 2: A Regional Approach to Studying Landscape Landscape Character in Roman Britain Landscape Character in the Early Medieval Period The Earliest Medieval Period (Fifth to Mid-Seventh Centuries) The `Long Eighth Century ́ (Late Seventh to Mid-Ninth Century) The Mid-Ninth to the Mid-Eleventh Centuries Mapping the Regions and Pays of First-Millenium ad Britain Regions Pays The Fields of Britannia Regions of Late Roman and Early Medieval Britain South East England The Central Zone East Anglia The South West Western Lowlands North East Lowlands Northern Uplands Lowland Wales Upland Wales 3: A Landscape Approach to the Roman-Medieval Transition Reconstructing Patterns of Land-Use Palaeoenvironmental Sequences Palaeoeconomic Data Methodological Considerations Animal Husbandry Cereal Cultivation Discussion The Fieldscape of Roman Britain Buried and Relict Landscapes Romano-British Field Systems Preserved Within the Historic Landscape of Today The Fieldscape of Early Medieval Britain The Earliest Medieval Period (the `Early and Middle Saxon Period ́) The Long Eighth Century (`Middle Saxon Period ́) and the Origins of Open Fields The Fields of Britannia Methodology A Note on Period Terminology Continuity and Discontinuity Changing Paradigms Continuity and Discontinuity of Different Landscape Components Modelling Landscape Change Discussion 4: The South East Introduction Environment and Land-Use The Brede, Pett, and Rye Levels: The Landward Edge of Romney Marsh The Weald The Weald Margin The South Downs The Hampshire Basin The Lower Thames Terraces The South Essex London Clay The Essex Boulder Clay Plateau Discussion: Land-Use Across the South East Region The Legacy of Late Romano-British Field Systems The Coaxial Landscape of Southern Essex The Regularly Arranged Landscapes of Southern Essex: Discussion The Chalk Downlands Bagshot Heaths The Weald and Weald Margin Summary 5: East Anglia Introduction Environment and Land-Use The East Anglian Boulder Clay Plateau Breckland The Legacy of Late Romano-British Field Systems The Boulder Clay Plateau Breckland Discussion 6: The Central Zone Introduction Environment and Land Use The Upper Thames Valley Great Ouse Valley and Great Ouse Clay Vale The Nene Valley West Leicestershire Heaths and Clays Holderness The Yorkshire Wolds Summary The Legacy of Late Romano-British Field Systems The Vale of Taunton Deane The Central Somerset Lowlands The Jurassic Limestone Hills The Vale of Gloucester The Upper Thames Valley East Midlands Clayland Pays Sherwood Forest and the Bunter Sandstones The Vale of Pickering Summary 7: The South West Introduction Environment and Land-Use The Granite Uplands in Cornwall Lowland Cornwall Dartmoor Lowland Devon Exmoor Blackdown Hills Discussion The Legacy of Late Romano-British Field Systems Red Devon The Blackdown Hills Lowland Cornwall West Penwith Discussion 8: The Western Lowlands Introduction Environment and Land-Use The Hills and Vales of Monmouthshire The Worcester Plain The Arden The Middle Severn Valley The Upper Severn Plain The Upper Trent Valley The Cheshire Hills The Merseyside and Lancashire Plain The Western Pennine Foothills Discussion The Legacy of Late Romano-British Field Systems The Worcester Plain Vale of Evesham The Middle Avon Valley Arden Discussion 9: The North East Lowlands Introduction Environment and Land-Use The North York Moors Tees, Tyne, and Wear Valleys Discussion The Legacy of the Late Romano-British Field Systems Landscape The Vale of York Discussion 10: The Northern Uplands Introduction Environment and Land-Use The Peak District The Pennines The Forest of Bowland The Cumbrian Uplands The Lake District The Barrow Peninsula The North Cumbrian Lowlands Weardale Discussion The Legacy of Late Romano-British Field Systems Discussion 11: Upland and Lowland Wales Introduction Environment and Land-Use of the Lowlands of South Wales Environment and Land-Use of Upland Wales The Lleyn Peninsula Snowdonia The Cambrian Mountains The Coastal Lowlands of Cardigan Bay The Pembrokeshire Hills The Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons Discussion 12: Discussion and Conclusions New Light on an Old Problem Patterns of Land-Use in First Millenium ad Britain The Fieldscape of Roman Britain Potential Continuity in the Fieldscape of Roman Britain The Date of Discontinuity The Origins of Open Fields Understanding Excavations Conclusions Deconstructing `Continuity ́ Towards a Model for Understanding Regional Variation in Landscape Character Bibliography Index