Rural Settlement, Lifestyles and Social Change in the Later First Millennium AD at Flixborough, Lincolnshire: Anglo-Saxon Flixborough in its Wider Context [eBook (PDF)]

Between 1989 and 1991, excavations in the parish of Flixborough, North Lincolnshire, unearthed remains of an Anglo-Saxon settlement associated with one of the largest collections of artefacts and animal bones yet found on such a site. In an unprecedented occupation sequence from an Anglo-Saxon rural settlement, six main periods of occupation have been identified, dating from the seventh to the early eleventh centuries; with a further period of activity, between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries AD. The remains of approximately forty buildings and other structures were uncovered; and due to the survival of large refuse deposits, huge quantities of artefacts and faunal remains were encountered compared with most other rural settlements of the period. The quality of the overall archaeological data contained within the settlement sequence is important for both the examination of site-specific issues, and for the investigation of wider research themes and problems, facing settlement studies in England, between AD 600 and 1050. Volume 4, offers a series of thematic analyses, integrating all the forms of evidence to reconstruct the lifestyles of the inhabitants. These comprise settlement-specific aspects and wider themes. The former include relations with the surrounding landscape and region, trade and exchange, and specialist artisan activity. Whereas the wider themes consider approaches to the interpretation of settlement character, the social spectrum of its inhabitants, changing relationships between rural and emerging urban centres, and the importance of the excavated remains within contemporary studies of early medieval settlement and society in western Europe.

Introduction (C Loveluck)
The excavated Anglo-Saxon settlement remains and potential for wider interpretation (C Loveluck)
The Built Environment: the buildings, aspects of settlement morphology and the use of space (C Loveluck)
Environment and landscape in the Anglo-Saxon period (G Grant and C Loveluck)
The Agricultural Economy and resource procurement (K Dobney et al)
Craft and Industry - non-agrarian activities underpinning everyday life (C Lovelock and P Walton Rogers)
Trade and Exchange - the settlement and the wider world (C Loveluck et al)
Historical context within Lindsey and possible estate structures (S Foot and D Roffe)
Changing lifestyles, interpretation of settlement character and wider perspectives (C Loveluck)
Final conclusions
Bibliography

"the series editor and principal author Christopher Loveluck is to be congratulated'"
Andrew Reynolds
British Archaeology (2008)

"Important material of considerable value to historical studies.'"

Northern History (2008)

"Overall, the work is thought-provoking and has broader implications for the interpretation of other sites of this period.'"
Jess Tipper
Antiquity (Vol. 82, 2008)

"Designed to stand alone to be read and consulted in its own right... Appropriately mirroring the extraordinary nature of the site, it may prove essential reading, even to those with access to Volumes 1-3.'"
Andrew Rogerson
Landscape History (30, 2008/9)

"These are first-class, well-produced books that should be on the shelves not just of Anglo-Saxonists, but of anyone interested in site interpretation. A joy to read!'"
Mike McCarthy
Antiquaries Journal (Vol. 88, 2008)

"These volumes provide a wealth of high-quality primary data and thoughtful analysis which will enrich and inform our understanding of the communities of mid- and late Saxon England for years to come.'"
Helena Hamerow
Early Medieval Europe (August 2009)

"The volumes under review here present unparalleled window on the workings and character of an early medieval estate centre with a degree of resolution only normally encountered in urban archaeology. As principal author and coordinator of the Flixborough project, Chris Loveluck has achieved a substantial task in bringing high-definition archaeology and a new type-site to the field of early medieval studies following two previous detailed interim reports. The Flixborough publication will serve as a benchmark for years to come.'"
Andrew Reynolds
Medieval Archaeology (Vol. 54, November 2010)