Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian Settlement at Cottam :: Medieval Archaeology Essays

Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian Settlement at Cottam Excavation of the Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian settlement at Cottam B (NGR 49754667) continued in July 1995, directed by Dr J.D. Richards for the Department of Archaeology, University of York. Work focused on a possible 10th-century settlement focus, c.200m NE of the 8th/9th-century site investigated in 1993. Two Norse bells, a 10th-century spearhead and a Jellinge-style brooch had been recovered from this area by metal-detector users, and field-walking had yielded Torksey-type ware sherds. Aerial photographs showed very few crop-marks in this area, although a magnetometer survey was conducted in Spring 1995 and revealed several ditched enclosures either side of droveways. The purpose of the 1995 excavation was to: - evaluate the survival of evidence in this area and investigate the reasons for the lack of crop-marks; - test the theory that this site represented a localised settlement shift from the SW; - characterise the nature of settlement in this area. A trench 20 x 100m was cut across the entrance, a central trackway, and parts of at least two enclosures. This revealed a massive ditched entranceway with an internal rampart and substantial wooden gate structure. At this point the ditch was at least 1.5m deep by 2.5m wide with a rampart behind it, although elsewhere the trackways and enclosures were defined by shallow ditches, less than 0.5m in depth. It appears that the main purpose of the entrance was for display rather than defensive purposes. Traces of several post-built structures were discovered within the enclosures, although truncation by ploughing had removed all occupation deposits and continues to make it difficult to define coherent building plans. The lack of crop-marks was demonstrated to be the result of the shallow nature of most of the features, many less than 0.1m deep, making them visible to magnetometry but not affecting crop growth. Several structural features were identified however, including a possible quarry pit and several industrial features which yielded large quantities of fuel ash slag. The finds recovered included two late strap-ends, one conveniently from a post-hole, as well as a number of dress pins, and a finger ring decorated with ring and dot ornament. The pottery, including York-, Torksey- and Maxey-type wares, attests to a range of trading contacts, both N and S of the Humber. This is in stark contrast to the 8th and early 9th century focus, which was apparently aceramic.