Moated sites in medieval England : a reassessment
This thesis sets out to reassess medieval moated sites in England in light of up-to-date information, and to investigate a number of key areas: where moated sites were located, why they were dug, who had them dug, and their relationship with their localities. Variations between sites and whether it is possible to make overriding conclusions about moated sites are also considered. A new dataset of moated sites was created for this thesis, to take into account information not used in previous studies. This new dataset of 8452 sites has been used to create a new distribution map of moated sites in England. The thesis explores the implications of this, and the reasons behind the distribution, including the influences of topography and geology, areas of Forest Law, settlement patterns, and social emulation. A new chronology of the construction of moated sites has been created from this new dataset. This chronology has been used to look at how the distribution of moated sites may have changed over time, and who was responsible for the moats dug at different periods. The study then questions whether there is evidence for a single motivation for the use of moats or whether there were multiple influences, and how this
Coveney, Natasha
Moated sites in medieval England : a reassessment. This thesis sets out to reassess medieval moated sites in England in light of up-to-date information, and to investigate a number of key areas: where moated sites were located, why they were dug, who had them dug, and their relationship with their localities. Variations between sites and whether it is possible to make overriding conclusions about moated sites are also considered. A new dataset of moated sites was created for this thesis, to take into account information not used in previous studies. This new dataset of 8452 sites has been used to create a new distribution map of moated sites in England. The thesis explores the implications of this, and the reasons behind the distribution, including the influences of topography and geology, areas of Forest Law, settlement patterns, and social emulation. A new chronology of the construction of moated sites has been created from this new dataset. This chronology has been used to look at how the distribution of moated sites may have changed over time, and who was responsible for the moats dug at different periods. The study then questions whether there is evidence for a single motivation for the use of moats or whether there were multiple influences, and how this
moated_site medieval_england reassessment set reassess medieval moated_site england light up_to_date information investigate number_key area moated_site locate dug dug relationship locality variations sit whether_possible make override conclusion moated_site also_consider new dataset moated_site create take_account information use previous_study new dataset site use create_new distribution_map moated_site england explores_implication reason_behind distribution include influence topography geology area forest law settlement_pattern social emulation new_chronology construction moated_site create_new dataset chronology use look distribution moated_site may change_time responsible moat different_period study question_whether evidence single motivation use whether multiple influence