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Caldecote: The Development and Desertion of a Hertfordshire Village

by Guy Beresford

In 1973 the Department of Environment and the Deserted Medieval Village Research Group arranged a rescue excavation to examine the earthworks of the medieval village of Cladecote before they were levelled and ploughed. Five crofts, the old rectory site and much of the moated enclosure were investigated in one of the largest excavations ever conducted on a later medieval rural site in Britain. This volume is the final report of the results of the excavations. Of particular importance from Caldecote is the archaeological evidence for medieval peasant structures, the development of the later medieval domestic plan and the structural transformation of post-medieval period houses including the insertion of chimneys and second storeys. The medieval and later pottery assemblage is of regional importance for its size and the range of fabrics represented. The metalwork comprises many objects of personal adornment, household utensils, and tools for woodwork, agriculture and the manufacture of textiles. Other finds include copper-alloy objects both domestic and agricultural, whetstones, quernstones, mortars and clay pipes. Although the economy of Caldecote was always dependant on arable farming, the faunal remains elucidate aspects of the medieval diet and details of the livestock maintained on the holdings. 266p (Society for Medieval Archaeology 2009)

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