Fulford Battlefield Society

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA
Piece of long bone (from a horse?) found during the excavation at Fulford. Butchering and even damage from a mattock have been considered but both seem unlikely for the damage to the bone. The mineralised remnants of the ‘arrow’ are consistent with the weapon embedding  itself in the rib cage.
It’s nearly ‘digging’ time again. This year will be rather different. Alongside the digging we will be sorting and conserving the thousands of finds from the project.

The aim of the 2017 digging is to investigate the fringe of the peat, dig a number of test pits and investigate the geology.

The other major activity will be the sorting and conservation of the thousands of finds we have assembled during the project. With six folders of data and over 3000 finds, we really need your help! The aim is to ensure that all of the possible information has been extracted from these finds.

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

The project runs from Saturday 15 to Sunday 31 July with digging starting at 10ish. The dig welcomes experienced and novice archaeologists as a part of the CBA Festival of Archaeology. I will be camping on the site and you are welcome to join me.

As always, we welcome everybody to come and join the dig. There is no need to book days as the work load will accommodate as many as come. Just turn up. Bring a friend and get them to add their name to the mailing list  http ://groupspaces . com/FulfordBattlefieldSociety. Twitter is @earlmorcar.

Last year several diggers had the new ‘Skills Passport’ which allows volunteers to keep a formal record of what they have done. The diverse work we undertake provides opportunities to document your skills skills. A small supply of passports has been obtained and can be purchased onsite (£8,50 or to buy your own in advance visit http ://www . archaeologyskills . co . uk/shop/)

ChasJOnes

I have uploaded the full dig plan in the ‘files’ tab on our webspace.

Breaking news: I was approached by the Vikings organisation recently to see if we could organise a living history and battle reenactment event at Fulford this year. Plans are still being finalised but we will probably be organising a major event on the site on 23/24 Sept.

WP_20140215_017
Viking reenactment enthusiasts

PARADISE : THE WORLD OF ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE —

New! Expected September 2017! Rita Wood’s book looking at Romanesque sculpture in Europe, that is, the Christian West, is a rational attempt to find meaning for (most of) those lions and dragons, as well as other creatures. It places them in the context of the Gregorian reforms, and identifies mainstream, largely biblical, imagery. There are over 200 illustrations and an index. If you might be interested in buying a copy please e-mail the author and she will let you know when her book is ready, how much it will cost and how you can order a copy direct from the printer. E: isarita2003@yahoo.co.uk

Medieval Section lecture and AGM – Saturday, 13 May, 2 pm

Medieval Section lecture and AGM this Saturday:

Gary Brannan is talking about the the York Archbishops’ Registers. He writes:

The registers contain a wealth of information relating to both clerical and lay matters, and are one of the largest, yet least-exploited sources for the study of medieval England and, specifically, medieval Yorkshire. The registers document the church’s role in society, its relationship with the state and crucially, with itself. From wayward priests to royal infidelity and expressions of personal piety to papal indulgence, the registers are a crucial source for local medieval research and are now available free online.

At Swarthmore, Saturday, 13 May, 2 pm, and followed by the section AGM. There’s an opening for a new member to join the committee – please let Bryan know if you’re interested.

Lecture 8th April 2017: Ian Roberts on Wakefield Cathedral and St Giles’ Church, Pontefract: New Archaeological Insights

Our speaker today, Ian Roberts, will talk about the new archaeological insights which have emerged from the work on Wakefield Cathedral and St Giles’ Church, Pontefract. He writes: ‘The major re-ordering which involves the excavation of historic church interiors is a relatively rare occurrence. However, in the last five years, two of West Yorkshire’s medieval churches have had extensive floor renewals, providing archaeological opportunities to investigate and reassess long-standing ideas about their development, based upon Victorian observations.’

The lecture will be in the Swarthmore Centre today at 2pm. Our AGM has been postponed until next month.

 

Power, Privilege and Politics in the Medieval Honour of Pontefract

 

Keirincx, Alexander, 1600-1652; Pontefract Castle

An Illustrated Lecture about the Medieval Honour of Pontefract by Dr Sarah Rose for Saddleworth Historical Society

From at least the twelfth century, Saddleworth was in the possession of the Stapletons, a knightly family based over forty miles away in Stapleton, south of Pontefract.  They held several manors of the Lacy dynasty who controlled the honour of Pontefract, a large, compact lordship, the core of which lay within the old West Riding of Yorkshire.

Created in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest, the honour was atypical of many English honours in that it survived throughout the medieval period, not only as a physical entity, but also as a meaningful focus for authority and community, loyalty and reward. By examining the behaviour of its lords and leading tenants, as well as the significance of the honour’s institutions, this talk will demonstrate how the honour of Pontefract challenges perceptions of honorial decline and supports the notion of feudal continuity.

Dr Sarah Rose completed her PhD, ‘Landed Society in the honour of Pontefract, c.1086-1509’ at Lancaster University in 2010. Since then, she has worked within the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster on the Victoria County History of Cumbria project as Assistant Editor. She has also taught several medieval history modules at Lancaster and Manchester Metropolitan Universities, including a specialist module on Richard III. Sarah also works for the British Association for Local History as the Reviews Editor for The Local Historian journal.

The lecture will be held at Saddleworth Museum, Uppermill, OL3 6AP on Wednesday 8th March, at 7:30 p.m.

Members Free, Non-Members £3

Medieval Section lecture 11th March 2017: Early Medieval Execution in England and the Problem of the North

Cotton Claudius BIV 59r hanging close-up 2
Cotton Claudius BIV 59r hanging close-up

The next talk in the spring programme will be given by Alyxandra Mattison, who will discuss the archaeological and historical evidence for execution in early medieval England. Anglo-Saxons had very specific beliefs surrounding judicial punishment and the treatment of criminals in death, many of which came to an end after the Norman Conquest. The impetuses behind these changes and what they meant for the future of criminality in England will be explored. The talk will then venture to the Yorkshire (and the Danelaw) and the problem of how it fit into this Anglo-Saxon scheme of punishment. Did the Danelaw use the same punishments and treatment of criminals as the rest of Anglo-Saxon England? What sort of evidence, or lack thereof, do we have for judicial punishment in the Danelaw? The venue for our meeting will be the Swarthmore Institute in Leeds. We will start at 2pm and there will be time for questions.

The speaker recently completed her PhD on early medieval judicial punishment at the University of Sheffield. She has  general interests in bioarchaeology and funerary studies, Anglo-Saxon England, the Norman Conquest, early medieval law, medieval theology, and the medieval view of the body. She currently work as a commercial archaeologist for Northern Archaeological Associates.

IMS Open Lecture Series: 'The Archaeology of Anarchy? Landscapes of War and Status in 12th-Century England'

Tuesday 7th March – 17.30

Presented by Professor Oliver Creighton

This lecture will examine material evidence for the conflict of the mid-12th century popularly known as ‘the Anarchy’, during the turbulent reign of Stephen, King of England (1135–54).

Drawing on new research and fieldwork, the lecture will provide an overview of the material record for this controversial period, covering castles, siege-castles, churches and settlements, alongside material culture including coins, pottery, seals and arms and armour, and question the ‘real’ impact of Stephen’s troubled reign on society and the English landscape.

IMS Open Lecture Series : Runes and Verse: The Medialities of Early Scandinavian Poetry

Tuesday 21st February, 2017 – 17.30

Judith Jesch is Professor of Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham. She is the author most recently of The Viking Diaspora (2015) and is currently working mainly on runic inscriptions and Old Norse poetry. She is also PI on the AHRC-funded ‘Bringing the Vikings Back to the East Midlands’ project, starting on 1 February 2017.

In this lecture, Professor Jesch will discuss a number of versified runic inscriptions, from ca. 400 to 1400 AD, to explore what they reveal about the forms and functions of early Scandinavian poetry outside the manuscript tradition.

Nathan Bodington Council Chamber, Parkinson Building, University of Leeds.

Thornton Le Street Heritage Lottery Fund Project.

Thornton Le Street History Group are launching their Heritage Lottery funded archaeology and history project with an Open Day to be held in the village hall on Saturday 18th February between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm. Anyone interested in participating is invited to come along, see what is involved and register their interest.

Thornton le Street is a typical Vale of York village with extensive evidence of early occupation. The project will study the history of the village and its surrounding area which contains a substantial Scheduled Monument site, a water mill, a river ford, an early church, and landed estates. Two Roman roads are said to converge at this point and it is hoped to resolve whether the village is Roman or medieval in origin.

Jim Brightman of Solstice Heritage, who recently led a community archaeology project at Kiplin Hall in the nearby Vale of Mowbray, will supervise the project which will be of 18 months duration. Training and practical experience will be provided in archaeological field work and historical documentary research. The latest digital recording will be used which will be incorporated into a bespoke website which will be developed by the participants.

If you cannot attend on the day, a project synopsis is available on the village website  or you can contact John Sheehan on 01609 771878 or at jgsheehan@btinternet.com