The Fields of Britannia: Continuity and Discontinuity in the<i>Pays</i>and Regions of Roman Britain

Rippon, Stephen; Smart, Chris; Pears, Ben; Fleming, Fiona

doi:10.1179/1466203513z.0000000005

Cited by 12 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Wooded landscape elements (copses, hillside woodlands, orchards) formed part of the irregular pattern of small enclosed fields or ‘closes’ (Rippon et al . ) characteristic of the Medieval historic landscape of the Blackdown pays, which was then protected by small ecclesiastical houses and the establishment of a Royal Forest in part of the area. The combination of fragmented ecclesiastical landholdings and the establishment of Royal or elite Forests and Chases is an important element in the subregional landscape history of England and other parts of France and NW Europe and is a major cultural element in the formation of pays or distinctive eco‐cultural regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The area covered in this paper is also of wider interest as it appears to straddle a deep‐time landscape boundary with the ‘central region’ of England to the east dominated by medieval villages, Roman villas and large Iron Age hillforts and to the west a region with dispersed medieval settlement patterns, lack of Romanization and smaller Iron Age enclosed settlements (Rippon ; Rippon et al . ).…”

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confidence: 97%

“…The comparison of the results of this intermediate inland area with the well‐researched uplands of Dartmoor and Exmoor provide the most complete coverage of any region in Europe (at 1 diagram 100 km −2 over 6707 km 2 ) and permit the identification of eco‐cultural regions or pays – a term of French origin and associated with Paul Vidal de la Blache that is being increasingly used by British and European landscape historians (De la Blache ; Turner ; Rippon et al . ). The recognition of such regions can also now contribute to the planning process in the UK through the mapping of ‘historic character’, a process that has been implemented by English Heritage (for Devon see Turner ).…”

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confidence: 97%

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Palaeoecological, archaeological and historical data and the making ofDevon landscapes.I.TheBlackdownHills

Brown

Hawkins

Ryder

et al. 2014

Boreas

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This paper presents the first systematic study of the vegetation history of a range of low hills in SW England, UK, lying between more researched fenlands and uplands. After the palaeoecological sites were located bespoke archaeological, historical and documentary studies of the surrounding landscape were undertaken specifically to inform palynological interpretation at each site. The region has a distinctive archaeology with late Mesolithic tool scatters, some evidence of early Neolithic agriculture, many Bronze Age funerary monuments and RomanoBritish iron-working. Historical studies have suggested that the present landscape pattern is largely early Medieval. However, the pollen evidence suggests a significantly different Holocene vegetation history in comparison with other areas in lowland England, with evidence of incomplete forest clearance in later-Prehistory (Bronze−Iron Age). Woodland persistence on steep, but poorly drained, slopes, was probably due to the unsuitability of these areas for mixed farming. Instead they may have been under woodland management (e.g. coppicing) associated with the iron-working industry. Data from two of the sites also suggest that later Iron Age and Romano-British impact may have been geographically restricted. The documented Medieval land management that maintained the patchwork of small fields, woods and heathlands had its origins in later Prehistory, but there is also evidence of landscape change in the 6th-9th centuries AD. We conclude that the Blackdown Hills area was one of many 'distinctive subregions', which due to a combination of edaphic, topographic and cultural factors could qualify as an eco-cultural region or 'pays'. It is argued that the use of such eco-culturally distinctive regions or pays can provide a spatial and archaeological framework for palaeoecology, which has implications for landscape research, designation and heritage management.Antony G. Brown (Tony.Brown@soton.ac.uk),

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 97%

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confidence: 97%

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Palaeoecological, archaeological and historical data and the making ofDevon landscapes.I.TheBlackdownHills

Brown

Hawkins

Ryder

et al. 2014

Boreas

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“…The ‘Fields of Britannia’ project, analyzing Roman to early medieval field systems, noted general continuities in terms of land‐use based on some 200 analyzed pollen samples and various continuities or re‐uses of boundaries and boundary alignments (Rippon et al . ; ). Banham and Faith (, 141–3, 294), however, still argue in favour of a decrease in arable activity after the withdrawal of Roman administration, suggesting that the economy became more heavily dependent on livestock, whose grazing would also have kept woodland regeneration under control.…”

Section: The Early Medieval Period: ‘He Who Tills His Land Will Have mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fields, Ritual and Religion: Holistic Approaches to the Rural Landscape in Long‐Term Perspective (c.1500 BC–AD 1086)

Harkel

Franconi²,

Gosden³

2017

Oxford J Archaeology

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Summary This paper discusses the relationship between agricultural activity and ritualized/religious practices in England from the middle Bronze Age to the early medieval period (c.1500 BC–AD 1086). It is written in the context of the ERC‐funded, Oxford‐based ‘English Landscapes and Identities project’ (EngLaId), which involved the compilation of an extensive spatial database of archaeological ‘monuments’, finds and other related data to chart change and continuity during this period. Drawing on this database alongside documentary and onomastic evidence, we analyze the changing relationship between fields, ritual and religion in England. We identify four moments of change, around the start of the middle Bronze Age (c.1500 BC), in the late Bronze Age (c.1150 BC), the late Iron Age (c.150 BC) and the middle/late Anglo‐Saxon period (c.800 AD). However, despite changes in both agricultural and ritual/religious practices during this extensive timeframe, a clear link between them can be observed throughout.

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“…Bell 1977). More locally, the site represents an important case study for the development of patterns of land use (Rippon et al 2013) and estate centres (Brookes 2010) in early Anglo-Saxon Kent. Finally and most significantly, the site presents a continuum between pre-monastic royal centre and monastery , enabling investigation of agricultural intensification and the role of monastic estates within the 'long eighth century' (Rippon 2010) which has previously been addressed from both botanical (McKerracher, forthcoming;Van der Veen, Hill, and Livarda 2013) and archaeological evidence (Hamerow 2012).…”

Section: Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anglo-Saxon Economy and Ecology by a Downland Stream: A Waterlogged Sequence from the Anglo-Saxon Royal Settlement at Lyminge, Kent

Maslin

2017

Environmental Archaeology

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Palaeoecological and geoarchaeological investigations which cover the Anglo-Saxon period are rare, particularly in chalk downland landscapes which are considered to have limited palaeoenvironmental potential. The present study explores a sequence which can be directly related to the occupation history of the major Anglo-Saxon settlement at Lyminge, Kent. This work demonstrated a sequence of palaeochannels and organic deposits associated with the latter part of an archaeological sequence which spans the 5th to the 11th centuries AD. A range of evidence for the environment and economic activity is presented which suggests landscape continuity, possibly stretching back as far as the Romano-British period. The sequence revealed worked wood and evidence for livestock management and cereal cultivation, some of which is contemporary with the final phases of occupation of a 7th century 'great hall complex' and its subsequent transformation into a royal monastery. Agricultural activity following the abandonment of the pre-monastic settlement area caused this stream margin to become gradually buried by ploughwash which displaced the channel over time and sealed the organic deposits. It is incredibly rare to find such organic preservation in direct association with an Anglo-Saxon downland rural settlement and this is the first time that such a sequence has been analysed in association with the latter phases of a known Anglo-Saxon royal and monastic centre. ARTICLE HISTORY

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The Fields of Britannia: Continuity and Discontinuity in thePaysand Regions of Roman Britain

Cited by 12 publications

References 13 publications

Palaeoecological, archaeological and historical data and the making ofDevon landscapes.I.TheBlackdownHills

Palaeoecological, archaeological and historical data and the making ofDevon landscapes.I.TheBlackdownHills

Fields, Ritual and Religion: Holistic Approaches to the Rural Landscape in Long‐Term Perspective (c.1500 BC–AD 1086)

Anglo-Saxon Economy and Ecology by a Downland Stream: A Waterlogged Sequence from the Anglo-Saxon Royal Settlement at Lyminge, Kent

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