Towns in the dark? : urban transformations from late Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England (AD 300-600)
What became of towns following the official end of âRoman Britainâ at the beginning of the 5th century AD? Did towns fail? Were these ruinous sites really neglected by early Anglo-Saxon settlers and leaders? Developed new archaeologies are starting to offer alternative pictures to the traditional images of urban decay and loss revealing diverse modes of material expression, of usage of space, and of structural change. The focus of this thesis is to draw together still scattered data to chart and interpret the changing nature of life in towns from the late Roman period through to the mid-Anglo-Saxon period (broadly AD 300 to 600). The research centres on towns that have received sufficient archaeological intervention so that meaningful patterns can be traced. The case studies are arranged into three regional areas: the South-East, South-West, and Midlands. Individually each town contains varying levels of archaeological data, but analysed together these illustrate more clearly patterns of evolution. Much of the data exists as accessible but largely unpublished reports, or isolated within regional discussions. Detailed analysis, review and comparisons generate significant scope for modelling âurbanâ
Speed, Gavin
Towns in the dark? : urban transformations from late Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England (AD 300-600). What became of towns following the official end of âRoman Britainâ at the beginning of the 5th century AD? Did towns fail? Were these ruinous sites really neglected by early Anglo-Saxon settlers and leaders? Developed new archaeologies are starting to offer alternative pictures to the traditional images of urban decay and loss revealing diverse modes of material expression, of usage of space, and of structural change. The focus of this thesis is to draw together still scattered data to chart and interpret the changing nature of life in towns from the late Roman period through to the mid-Anglo-Saxon period (broadly AD 300 to 600). The research centres on towns that have received sufficient archaeological intervention so that meaningful patterns can be traced. The case studies are arranged into three regional areas: the South-East, South-West, and Midlands. Individually each town contains varying levels of archaeological data, but analysed together these illustrate more clearly patterns of evolution. Much of the data exists as accessible but largely unpublished reports, or isolated within regional discussions. Detailed analysis, review and comparisons generate significant scope for modelling âurbanâ
towns dark urban transformation late roman britain anglo saxon_england become town follow official end roman_britain begin town fail site really neglect early_anglo_saxon settler leader developed new archaeology start offer_alternative picture traditional image urban decay loss reveal diverse mode material_expression usage space structural_change focus draw_together still scatter data chart interpret change_nature life town late_roman_period mid anglo_saxon_period broadly centre town receive sufficient archaeological intervention meaningful pattern trace case_study arrange regional area south_east south_west midlands individually town contains vary_level archaeological_data analyse together illustrate clearly patterns evolution much data exist accessible largely unpublished_report isolate within regional discussion detailed_analysis review comparison generate significant scope model urban