Prof Christopher Ramsey

Abstract:

Abstract As in the rest of Europe, the population of medieval England grew steeply, especially between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. This volume investigates how medieval farmers managed to produce sufficiently large harvests to sustain this growth—which in turn fuelled a major expansion of towns and markets—and the impact of this ‘cerealisation’ on the landscape. It presents new evidence recovered from hundreds of archaeological excavations for the development of the medieval farming regimes that shaped the English landscape in ways still visible today. Medieval farming is a contentious topic, not least because of the different approaches taken by historians, archaeologists, and geographers. No consensus has been reached about the cultivation regimes that underpinned the remarkable increase in cereal production seen in this period. A large-scale analysis of the excavated remains of medieval crops, weeds, livestock, and pollen has generated new evidence using a range of science-based methods. The results reveal the conditions in which medieval crops were grown and the way in which land use changed between the late Roman period and the Black Death. The authors relate the results to archaeological and written evidence for farms and farming, bringing an ecological perspective to the debate about the so-called medieval agricultural revolution. The ‘cerealisation’ of England emerges as a regionally variegated process lasting several centuries, whose overall impact can nevertheless be described as ‘revolutionary’.

Abstract:

Abstract Systematic crop rotation, whereby farmers followed an agreed sequence of sowing and fallow, was a fundamental feature of medieval farming. A regular short fallow period enabled more land to be brought under the plough while the fallow field provided valuable grazing. A review of what written sources suggest about crop rotation is followed by a consideration of how archaeobotanical remains can be used to distinguish between crops grown in rotation, crops grown in separate fields, and mixed crops such as maslins. Analysis of arable weeds reveals evidence for seasonal sowing while the stable isotope signatures of medieval cereal grains are analysed to investigate the likelihood of systematic rotation. Increased uniformity of crop stable isotope values from the tenth century onwards, supported by evidence for seasonal sowing, indicates that this period saw the widespread adoption of systematic crop rotation.

Abstract:

The population of England grew steeply in the Middle Ages, especially between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. This volume investigates how medieval farmers managed to produce the large harvests needed to sustain this growth, growth that in turn fuelled a major expansion of towns and markets. New evidence is presented for the development of the medieval farming regimes that shaped the English landscape in ways still visible today. Medieval farming is a contentious topic, not least because of the different approaches taken by historians, archaeologists and geographers and no consensus has been reached about the cultivation regimes that underpinned medieval cereal production. This volume presents a new perspective on this question, based on the results of a project that analysed the remains of medieval crops, arable weeds, livestock and pollen from hundreds of excavations. The new evidence that this generated reveals the conditions in which medieval crops were grown and how land use changed between the late Roman period and the Black Death. The authors relate the results to archaeological and written evidence for farms and farming, bringing an ecological perspective to the debate about the so-called medieval 'agricultural revolution'. The 'cerealisation' of England emerges as a regionally varied process lasting several centuries, whose overall impact was nevertheless revolutionary.

Abstract:

Abstract As in the rest of Europe, the population of medieval England grew steeply, especially between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. This volume investigates how medieval farmers managed to produce sufficiently large harvests to sustain this growth—which in turn fuelled a major expansion of towns and markets—and the impact of this ‘cerealisation’ on the landscape. It presents new evidence recovered from hundreds of archaeological excavations for the development of the medieval farming regimes that shaped the English landscape in ways still visible today. Medieval farming is a contentious topic, not least because of the different approaches taken by historians, archaeologists, and geographers. No consensus has been reached about the cultivation regimes that underpinned the remarkable increase in cereal production seen in this period. A large-scale analysis of the excavated remains of medieval crops, weeds, livestock, and pollen has generated new evidence using a range of science-based methods. The results reveal the conditions in which medieval crops were grown and the way in which land use changed between the late Roman period and the Black Death. The authors relate the results to archaeological and written evidence for farms and farming, bringing an ecological perspective to the debate about the so-called medieval agricultural revolution. The ‘cerealisation’ of England emerges as a regionally variegated process lasting several centuries, whose overall impact can nevertheless be described as ‘revolutionary’.

Abstract:

Abstract Chapter 2 sets out the size and shape of the dataset on which the study is based and explains how animal bones, plant remains, and pollen from hundreds of excavations allow for a range of analytical techniques to be deployed in conjunction and on a scale not previously possible. The phasing scheme constructed for the project, based on c.200 radiocarbon dates, is also presented. This is followed by a discussion of the aims and materials and methods for: archaeobotanical analysis (to trace changes in fertility, ploughing regimes, and seasonal sowing), crop stable isotope analysis (to investigate crop rotation and expansion onto heavy soils), zooarchaeological analysis (to trace the spread of the mouldboard plough and of arable farming generally), and pollen analysis (to reconstruct land use).