I just wanted to give everyone a preview of the new Medievalists.net website, which we are working on. The site is using a Wordpress content management system, so there are some changes still to be made and things like fontsize still need to be finalized. But we will be having a lot of content on it, including articles, interviews, videos and books. For now, here are a few links to articles from The Fourth Viking Congress, edited by Alan Small and published by Aberdeen University in 1961.
Here are the articles we have republished from this book:
Characteristics and Dating of Anglo-Saxon Churches, by H.M. Taylor
Anglo-Saxon Churches in Yorkshire, by H.M. Taylor
The York Viking Kingdom; Relations between Old English and Norse Culture, by Alan Burns
The Medieval Peasant House, by J.G. Hurst
Late Saxon Pottery, by J.G. Hurst
An Eleventh-Century Farmhouse in the Norse Colonies in Greenland, by C.L. Vebaek
Eysteinn Haraldsson in the West, c.1151: Oral Traditions and Written Record, by A.B. Taylor
The site will officially be ready to go sometime this month.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Upcoming Medieval Conferences
The Landscapes of South Yorkshire and the North Midlands
October 11, 2008
University of Sheffield
Click here for more details
Jews and antisemitisms
October 15, 2008
University of London
Click here for more details
The 34th Annual Byzantine Studies Conference
October 16-19, 2008
Rutgers University
Click here for more details
The Devil in Society in the Pre-modern World
October 17-18, 2008
University of Toronto
Click here for more details
Rye Medieval Conference: Medieval Seas
October 18-19, 2008
Thomas Peacocke Community College
Click here for more details (PDF file)
Beyond Saints and Scholars: Medieval Irish Studies in the Twenty-First Century
October 26-29, 2008
St.Louis University
Click here for more details
Translating the Middle Ages
October 28-29, 2008
University of Illinois at Urbana=Champaign
Click here for more details
CMH@20 - Metropolitan history: past, present, future
October 30-31, 2008
University of London
Click here for more details
Fourth Bangor Colloquium on Medieval Wales
November 8-9, 2008
Bangor University
Click here for more details
Global Encounters: Legacies of Exchange and Conflict (1000-1700)
November 14-15, 2008
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Click here for more details
Debating Urbanism: Within and Beyond the Walls: A day conference on life within and around towns from c. AD 300-700
November 15, 2008
University of Leicester
Click here for more details
Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies 7th Biennial International Conference
December 2-6, 2008
University of Tasmania
Click here for more details
The Twenty-First Barnard Medieval and Renaissance Conference: "The Shape of Time in the Middle Ages and Renaissance"
December 6, 2008
Barnard College
Click here for more details
October 11, 2008
University of Sheffield
Click here for more details
Jews and antisemitisms
October 15, 2008
University of London
Click here for more details
The 34th Annual Byzantine Studies Conference
October 16-19, 2008
Rutgers University
Click here for more details
The Devil in Society in the Pre-modern World
October 17-18, 2008
University of Toronto
Click here for more details
Rye Medieval Conference: Medieval Seas
October 18-19, 2008
Thomas Peacocke Community College
Click here for more details (PDF file)
Beyond Saints and Scholars: Medieval Irish Studies in the Twenty-First Century
October 26-29, 2008
St.Louis University
Click here for more details
Translating the Middle Ages
October 28-29, 2008
University of Illinois at Urbana=Champaign
Click here for more details
CMH@20 - Metropolitan history: past, present, future
October 30-31, 2008
University of London
Click here for more details
Fourth Bangor Colloquium on Medieval Wales
November 8-9, 2008
Bangor University
Click here for more details
Global Encounters: Legacies of Exchange and Conflict (1000-1700)
November 14-15, 2008
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Click here for more details
Debating Urbanism: Within and Beyond the Walls: A day conference on life within and around towns from c. AD 300-700
November 15, 2008
University of Leicester
Click here for more details
Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies 7th Biennial International Conference
December 2-6, 2008
University of Tasmania
Click here for more details
The Twenty-First Barnard Medieval and Renaissance Conference: "The Shape of Time in the Middle Ages and Renaissance"
December 6, 2008
Barnard College
Click here for more details
Boyana church in Sofia - Medieval frescos
UNESCO-listed Boyana church reveals identity of its medieval master
Vessela Sergueva
2 October 2008
Agence France Presse
The 13th-century master who painted what has been listed by UNESCO as one of the world's finest collections of medieval frescoes at the Boyana church on the outskirts of Sofia has finally been identified.
"We now know the painter with certainty," the director of the National History Museum Bozhidar Dimitrov told AFP, as the church reopened Thursday to the public after undergoing restoration work for almost a century.
The final stage of the renovation revealed a rare inscription under a layer of plaster on one of the church walls: "I, Vasiliy inscribed."
Historians had argued earlier that Vasiliy might indeed be the mysterious "Boyana master", as he was the only painter among the kings and nobles whose names were read out on a regular basis during sermons at the church, Dimitrov said.
"The Christian Orthodox religion forbids the painter from manifesting himself, as in the eyes of the priests it is God who guides his hand. But this painter inscribed his name, knowing that the believers could not see it," said restorator Grigoriy Grigorov.
Other historians and archeologists were less certain that the inscription belonged to the church's fresco master, suggesting that it could also have been the work of one his assistants.
The small church on the outskirts of Sofia has featured on the UNESCO world heritage list since 1979, as "one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art."
While respecting Byzantine religious norms, the frescoes painted in 1259 possessed rare freedom, realism, harmony in the proportions, liveliness and warmth that already foresaw the birth of the Italian Renaissance, according to a UNESCO review of the site.
The master even went as far as to depict two commoners next to the saints: the church patrons, Sofia governor Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his beautiful wife Desislava.
The faces of the saints and martyrs were created by applying multiple layers of paint to give them life-like looks and expressions that were highly unusual at the time, Grigorov also noted.
The painter even introduced elements of Bulgarian cuisine in the painting of the Last Supper, such as onions and turnips.
The oldest part of the church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was built at the foot of Vitosha mountain in the late 10th and early 11th century.
In the mid-13th century, Kaloyan and Desislava commissioned a second section to the initial one-apse cross-vaulted church, this time dedicated to Christian martyr Panteleimon.
The church fell into disuse with the advance of the Ottoman domination in the 14th century and it was only in the mid-1800s that its third and last section was built using donations from the local community.
Candles and humidity had badly damaged the frescoes and the church was closed to the public in 1954, to be only partially re-opened in 2006.
With restoration complete, the Boyana church has now been equipped with an air-conditioning system to keep the temperature at 17-18 degrees Celsius (62-64 Fahrenheit).
The special lighting system emits no heat, which could damage the frescoes, and groups of visitors are only let in for fifteen minutes at a time.
14th century dock discovered in Richborough
Discovery of 14th century dock in UK turns history on its head
3 October 2008
Asian News International
A recently uncovered Roman structure at Richborough, England, which has been estimated to be a dock dating back to the 14th century, has turned history on its head, by proving that at the height of medieval Sandwich's power and wealth as a port, boats were still mooring at Richborough.
According to a report in The Guardian, this discovery is unique because according to the conventional history of the site, Richborough had been completely filled with silt 800 years earlier, the once magnificent Roman fort and large town left abandoned and desolate. The medieval dock was neatly constructed by joining up double-decker-bus-sized lumps of Roman walls which tumbled and slid down from the ramparts of the fort further up the slope. It is built on the shingled Roman shore, one of the key sites in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, and can be securely dated to the 14th century, since the construction technique is identical to the medieval town walls of nearby Sandwich.
The little dock, still filling with water seeping from under the railway line, proves that at the height of medieval Sandwich's power and wealth as a port (the town is now as landlocked as the fort), boats were still mooring at Richborough. "This really leaves us with a lot of questions," English Heritage archaeologist Tony Wilmott said.
Richborough Roman fort now stands among farm fields and scrap metal yards, in the shadow of power station cooling towers, on a windy ridge two miles from the sea. Its sea channel and dock gave shelter from the shifting sands and silty water off Ramsgate, infamous among sailors throughout history. Thousands of shipwrecks still lie buried in the mud. The fort was once one of the most imposing Roman sites in Britain, and despite being used as a convenient builder's suppliers for cut stone for centuries, its towering broken walls and huge earth banks are still commanding.
Finds from the new excavation include fragments of white marble from the huge triumphal arch built to mark the conquest of Britain. Most of this was later stripped and ground down to make limestone mortar for an Anglo Saxon shoreline fort; nothing remains of the arch except the foundations.
The amphitheatre and town still lie buried under green fields and, as the coastal edge of the site eroded, massive sections of the outer wall collapsed and tumbled down the slope. Some landed upside down, chalk foundations in the air, still held together by the strength of the Roman cement.
3 October 2008
Asian News International
A recently uncovered Roman structure at Richborough, England, which has been estimated to be a dock dating back to the 14th century, has turned history on its head, by proving that at the height of medieval Sandwich's power and wealth as a port, boats were still mooring at Richborough.
According to a report in The Guardian, this discovery is unique because according to the conventional history of the site, Richborough had been completely filled with silt 800 years earlier, the once magnificent Roman fort and large town left abandoned and desolate. The medieval dock was neatly constructed by joining up double-decker-bus-sized lumps of Roman walls which tumbled and slid down from the ramparts of the fort further up the slope. It is built on the shingled Roman shore, one of the key sites in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, and can be securely dated to the 14th century, since the construction technique is identical to the medieval town walls of nearby Sandwich.
The little dock, still filling with water seeping from under the railway line, proves that at the height of medieval Sandwich's power and wealth as a port (the town is now as landlocked as the fort), boats were still mooring at Richborough. "This really leaves us with a lot of questions," English Heritage archaeologist Tony Wilmott said.
Richborough Roman fort now stands among farm fields and scrap metal yards, in the shadow of power station cooling towers, on a windy ridge two miles from the sea. Its sea channel and dock gave shelter from the shifting sands and silty water off Ramsgate, infamous among sailors throughout history. Thousands of shipwrecks still lie buried in the mud. The fort was once one of the most imposing Roman sites in Britain, and despite being used as a convenient builder's suppliers for cut stone for centuries, its towering broken walls and huge earth banks are still commanding.
Finds from the new excavation include fragments of white marble from the huge triumphal arch built to mark the conquest of Britain. Most of this was later stripped and ground down to make limestone mortar for an Anglo Saxon shoreline fort; nothing remains of the arch except the foundations.
The amphitheatre and town still lie buried under green fields and, as the coastal edge of the site eroded, massive sections of the outer wall collapsed and tumbled down the slope. Some landed upside down, chalk foundations in the air, still held together by the strength of the Roman cement.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Beirut uncovers its hidden past
Beirut, a city of hidden treasures from the past. From the Romans to the Ottomans, ancient relics are constantly being discovered as the Lebanese capital undergoes a construction makeover.
John Rylands University Library to put medieval materials online
Medieval treasures go online
University of Manchester
23 Sep 2008
Some of the world’s greatest medieval literary riches are to be made available on the internet – giving the public free unlimited access for the first time. The treasures include one of the earliest existing manuscripts of the complete Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, 500-year-old translations of the Bible into English and one of England’s oldest recipe books.
The University of Manchester’s John Rylands University Library will use cutting edge technology to digitise their internationally renowned collection of over forty Middle English manuscripts thanks to funding from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
A rare copy of the ‘Forme of Cury’ – a 600-year-old recipe book compiled by the master cook of Richard the Second – will be available free of charge, along with the other treasures on the John Rylands Library website. The book contains recipes for dishes such as ‘blank mang’ – a sweet dish of chopped meat, milk, rice, sugar and almonds – and ‘custard’, an open pie resembling a modern quiche.
The project will also reunite fragments of a fifteenth-century manuscript of Chaucer’s ‘The Miller’s Tale’ in an online collaboration with the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia. Other key works to be digitised and uploaded to the John Rylands Library website will be John Lydgate’s two major poems, the ‘Troy Book’ and ‘Fall of Princes’.
The work, which will be carried out using a state-of-the-art high definition camera, begins in October this year and will be completed in late 2009. Jan Wilkinson, University Librarian and Director of the John Rylands Library, said: “The Library’s Middle English manuscripts are a research resource of immense significance. Yet the manuscripts are inherently fragile, and until now access to them has been restricted by the lack of digital copies. Digitisation will make them available to everyone. For the first time it will be possible to compare our manuscripts directly with other versions of the texts in libraries located across the world, opening up opportunities for new areas of research. We hope that this will be the beginning of a wider digitisation programme, which will unlock the tremendous potential of our medieval manuscripts and printed books, for the benefit of the academic community and the wider public.”
The Library holds fifteen fifteenth-century copies of the New Testament translated into English by John Wyclif, the fourteenth-century radical and church reformer. Wyclif is seen as a forerunner of the Protestant Reformation and attacked the wealth and worldliness of the Church, and translated the Bible from Latin into English, to make it accessible to the people. He was denounced as a heretic during his lifetime and forty years after his death the Pope ordered his bones to be dug up, burnt and the ashes scattered.
Assistant Librarian Carol Burrows said: “The project, entitled ‘In the Bigynnyng’ will act as a pilot for an ambitious Manchester Medieval Digital Library – ‘Incipit’ – which will contain digital versions of the Rylands’ outstanding collections of medieval manuscripts and early printed books. An exciting element of the project is the virtual reunification of a key manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, fragments of which have been separated by the Atlantic Ocean for over a century. Leaves located at the John Rylands Library and at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia will be digitally stitched together and viewed on a joint website.”
High quality images are available of:
*Lydgate's 'Troy Book'
*John Rylands fragment of Chaucer's “The Miller’s Tale”
*The 'Forme of Cury'
*Wyclif New Testament
Recipes from the Forme of Cury are available
University of Manchester
23 Sep 2008
Some of the world’s greatest medieval literary riches are to be made available on the internet – giving the public free unlimited access for the first time. The treasures include one of the earliest existing manuscripts of the complete Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, 500-year-old translations of the Bible into English and one of England’s oldest recipe books.
The University of Manchester’s John Rylands University Library will use cutting edge technology to digitise their internationally renowned collection of over forty Middle English manuscripts thanks to funding from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
A rare copy of the ‘Forme of Cury’ – a 600-year-old recipe book compiled by the master cook of Richard the Second – will be available free of charge, along with the other treasures on the John Rylands Library website. The book contains recipes for dishes such as ‘blank mang’ – a sweet dish of chopped meat, milk, rice, sugar and almonds – and ‘custard’, an open pie resembling a modern quiche.
The project will also reunite fragments of a fifteenth-century manuscript of Chaucer’s ‘The Miller’s Tale’ in an online collaboration with the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia. Other key works to be digitised and uploaded to the John Rylands Library website will be John Lydgate’s two major poems, the ‘Troy Book’ and ‘Fall of Princes’.
The work, which will be carried out using a state-of-the-art high definition camera, begins in October this year and will be completed in late 2009. Jan Wilkinson, University Librarian and Director of the John Rylands Library, said: “The Library’s Middle English manuscripts are a research resource of immense significance. Yet the manuscripts are inherently fragile, and until now access to them has been restricted by the lack of digital copies. Digitisation will make them available to everyone. For the first time it will be possible to compare our manuscripts directly with other versions of the texts in libraries located across the world, opening up opportunities for new areas of research. We hope that this will be the beginning of a wider digitisation programme, which will unlock the tremendous potential of our medieval manuscripts and printed books, for the benefit of the academic community and the wider public.”
The Library holds fifteen fifteenth-century copies of the New Testament translated into English by John Wyclif, the fourteenth-century radical and church reformer. Wyclif is seen as a forerunner of the Protestant Reformation and attacked the wealth and worldliness of the Church, and translated the Bible from Latin into English, to make it accessible to the people. He was denounced as a heretic during his lifetime and forty years after his death the Pope ordered his bones to be dug up, burnt and the ashes scattered.
Assistant Librarian Carol Burrows said: “The project, entitled ‘In the Bigynnyng’ will act as a pilot for an ambitious Manchester Medieval Digital Library – ‘Incipit’ – which will contain digital versions of the Rylands’ outstanding collections of medieval manuscripts and early printed books. An exciting element of the project is the virtual reunification of a key manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, fragments of which have been separated by the Atlantic Ocean for over a century. Leaves located at the John Rylands Library and at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia will be digitally stitched together and viewed on a joint website.”
High quality images are available of:
*Lydgate's 'Troy Book'
*John Rylands fragment of Chaucer's “The Miller’s Tale”
*The 'Forme of Cury'
*Wyclif New Testament
Recipes from the Forme of Cury are available
Matilda of Tuscany
MANTUA FETES MEDIEVAL RULER MATILDA OF TUSCANY.
25 September 2008
ANSA - English Media Service
The northern province of Mantua is celebrating the life and times of one of Italy's most powerful medieval women, Matilda of Tuscany (1046-1115). Three exhibitions exploring her steady rise to power and her close relations with the Church are running in the city and the surrounding area. Matilda was the daughter of Boniface II of Canossa, who controlled great swathes of land in northern Italy, and his second wife, Beatrice.
At the age of six, Matilda became sole heir to her father's estate when he died, even though she had an older brother. Beatrice, herself a strong, intelligent and deeply religious woman, was responsible for her daughter's upbringing, which was considered unconventional for the time.
Matilda enjoyed an extensive education and was able to speak, read and write Latin, Italian, German and French, and also developed a great love of literature that led her to acquire numerous manuscripts. Some sources also suggest she had military training, including horseriding, swordsmanship and tactical skills, and her presence on important battlefields seems to support the theory.
Matilda governed the vast tracts of land she owned in northern and central Italy for almost 40 years but is today best known for her pivotal involvement in the Investiture Controversy. This involved a struggle between Europe's secular rulers, especially the German emperors, who believed they had the power to appoint Church officials, and the papacy, which declared that the pope alone had the power.
Throughout her life, Matilda was a strong and active supporter of the papacy and played a crucial role in mediating an agreement of 1077 between the two main adversaries in the struggle, Pope Gregory VII and the German king Henry IV, later Holy Roman Emperor.
Each of the three exhibits explores a different aspect of Matilda's life.
The first and largest, in Mantua's Casa del Mantegna is entitled 'Matilde di Canossa, il Papato e l'Impero' (Matilda of Tuscany, The Papacy and the Empire). It features 250 items, including Henry IV's imperial throne of wrought iron and Gregory VII's papal throne.
The only remaining seal used by Matilda is displayed, as well as 22 documents she personally signed. Other items include hangings, jewellery, sculpture, crucifixes and weapons, as well as a host of archaeological artefacts, giving a sense of what day-to-day life was like at that time.
The second exhibition in the small town of San Benedetto Po, focuses on the Benedictine Abbey of San Benedetto Polirone founded by Matilda's grandfather, Tedaldo in 1007. Matilda withdrew to the Abbey for increasingly long periods of her life as she grew older and was eventually buried there. Entitled 'Matilda's Abbey', the exhibit collates artworks, including portraits of Matilda, and original documents from the abbey, as well as archive maps, showing work carried out by the complex's inhabitants.
The final show in the Diocesan Museum of Mantua spotlights the life of the Archbishop of Lucca Anselmo (1035-1086), sent by Gregory VII to be Matilda's advisor and confessor. This contains a variety of artworks and valuable documents. All three exhibitions are open until January 11 2009.
25 September 2008
ANSA - English Media Service
The northern province of Mantua is celebrating the life and times of one of Italy's most powerful medieval women, Matilda of Tuscany (1046-1115). Three exhibitions exploring her steady rise to power and her close relations with the Church are running in the city and the surrounding area. Matilda was the daughter of Boniface II of Canossa, who controlled great swathes of land in northern Italy, and his second wife, Beatrice.
At the age of six, Matilda became sole heir to her father's estate when he died, even though she had an older brother. Beatrice, herself a strong, intelligent and deeply religious woman, was responsible for her daughter's upbringing, which was considered unconventional for the time.
Matilda enjoyed an extensive education and was able to speak, read and write Latin, Italian, German and French, and also developed a great love of literature that led her to acquire numerous manuscripts. Some sources also suggest she had military training, including horseriding, swordsmanship and tactical skills, and her presence on important battlefields seems to support the theory.
Matilda governed the vast tracts of land she owned in northern and central Italy for almost 40 years but is today best known for her pivotal involvement in the Investiture Controversy. This involved a struggle between Europe's secular rulers, especially the German emperors, who believed they had the power to appoint Church officials, and the papacy, which declared that the pope alone had the power.
Throughout her life, Matilda was a strong and active supporter of the papacy and played a crucial role in mediating an agreement of 1077 between the two main adversaries in the struggle, Pope Gregory VII and the German king Henry IV, later Holy Roman Emperor.
Each of the three exhibits explores a different aspect of Matilda's life.
The first and largest, in Mantua's Casa del Mantegna is entitled 'Matilde di Canossa, il Papato e l'Impero' (Matilda of Tuscany, The Papacy and the Empire). It features 250 items, including Henry IV's imperial throne of wrought iron and Gregory VII's papal throne.
The only remaining seal used by Matilda is displayed, as well as 22 documents she personally signed. Other items include hangings, jewellery, sculpture, crucifixes and weapons, as well as a host of archaeological artefacts, giving a sense of what day-to-day life was like at that time.
The second exhibition in the small town of San Benedetto Po, focuses on the Benedictine Abbey of San Benedetto Polirone founded by Matilda's grandfather, Tedaldo in 1007. Matilda withdrew to the Abbey for increasingly long periods of her life as she grew older and was eventually buried there. Entitled 'Matilda's Abbey', the exhibit collates artworks, including portraits of Matilda, and original documents from the abbey, as well as archive maps, showing work carried out by the complex's inhabitants.
The final show in the Diocesan Museum of Mantua spotlights the life of the Archbishop of Lucca Anselmo (1035-1086), sent by Gregory VII to be Matilda's advisor and confessor. This contains a variety of artworks and valuable documents. All three exhibitions are open until January 11 2009.
Medieval village unearthed in archaeological dig at Taunton Deane
Medieval village unearthed in archaeological dig at Taunton Deane
27 September 2008
Western Daily Press
The long lost medieval settlement of Playstreet in Taunton Deane first came to light when tantalising traces of buildings and boundaries were spotted from the air by TV archaeologist Mick Aston. At first glance the field, tucked away the middle of the rolling Staple Fitzpaine countryside, looks like any other following a recent harvest - a blank canvas awaiting its next crop.
But across the dark clay is a hive of activity as a team of devoted diggers led by archaeologist and Neroche community history officer Tanya James are hard at work opening up trenches and peeling back the baked surface of soil for the first time in search of clues to the settlement that aerial photographs from 1977 and local records suggest was on this spot.
Research has pointed to a medieval house on the site which was occupied by Rachel Portman, daughter of the revered Sir Henry Portman, in the 17th century but it is believed the famous landowning dynasty held a sprawling estate across the Neroche area for more than 400 years.
As I was handed a trowel and set about battling my way through the unforgiving clay, Mrs James explained: "When Mick Aston took the pictures, it seemed to show a street marked by a shallow holloway with building plots on both sides. Documentary evidence suggests that Playstreet was in existence by the later medieval period in the 16th century and before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, was owned by Taunton Priory. Private owners came in over the years and we know it was owned by Rachel Portman."
But mystery also surrounds the details of the Portman's presence in Neroche. "There is a watercolour of what was said to be her house but it only shows a modest-sized house and we know it would have been much grander than that," Mrs James said. "But if you look at the painting, you can see the house's windows are far too big which would suggest that they came from a much bigger house. And in the background, you can just make out a ruined wall which suggests there were other buildings there."
Mrs James and her merry band of helpers picked up their mattocks on September 15 to begin the very first Playstreet excavation. The project has been made possible with the help of a Heritage Lottery grant but with less than a fortnight allocated for the dig, it has been a race against time to find out as much as possible.
Mrs James said: "It's quite unusual for a community dig like this to happen. It's been a great opportunity for us to excavate and the volunteers have been wonderful. I think they have really enjoyed it and part of that is because it's a way for them to find out more about the history of where they live and understand a bit more about the past. But we can't expect to find out everything about Playstreet in such a short time so we will hopefully be able to excavate again in the future."
Shards of medieval pottery, pot handles and rims, some dating back more than 800 years, have turned up in abundance at the site, backing up the theory it was occupied for several centuries.
A puzzling amount of stone has been unearthed - both limestone and churt - and Mrs James hopes geophysical surveyswill help reveal just what the rubble represents. She said: "It's been very difficult to tell. We know that those two types of stones don't occur together geologically so they must have been brought here for building. But whether we are looking at walls or part of a road of a farm yard, we can't tell at this stage."
During the two-week dig, everyone from pensioners and archaeology students to professionals and primary school pupils have been on site to lend a hand, making the back-breaking toil through rockhard ground a community effort. Mrs James said: "We've had a really nice atmosphere here during the dig and it's been hard work but good fun."
Neroche Parishes Local History Group plans to hold an open evening later in the year to present the Playstreet findings in detail.
27 September 2008
Western Daily Press
The long lost medieval settlement of Playstreet in Taunton Deane first came to light when tantalising traces of buildings and boundaries were spotted from the air by TV archaeologist Mick Aston. At first glance the field, tucked away the middle of the rolling Staple Fitzpaine countryside, looks like any other following a recent harvest - a blank canvas awaiting its next crop.
But across the dark clay is a hive of activity as a team of devoted diggers led by archaeologist and Neroche community history officer Tanya James are hard at work opening up trenches and peeling back the baked surface of soil for the first time in search of clues to the settlement that aerial photographs from 1977 and local records suggest was on this spot.
Research has pointed to a medieval house on the site which was occupied by Rachel Portman, daughter of the revered Sir Henry Portman, in the 17th century but it is believed the famous landowning dynasty held a sprawling estate across the Neroche area for more than 400 years.
As I was handed a trowel and set about battling my way through the unforgiving clay, Mrs James explained: "When Mick Aston took the pictures, it seemed to show a street marked by a shallow holloway with building plots on both sides. Documentary evidence suggests that Playstreet was in existence by the later medieval period in the 16th century and before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, was owned by Taunton Priory. Private owners came in over the years and we know it was owned by Rachel Portman."
But mystery also surrounds the details of the Portman's presence in Neroche. "There is a watercolour of what was said to be her house but it only shows a modest-sized house and we know it would have been much grander than that," Mrs James said. "But if you look at the painting, you can see the house's windows are far too big which would suggest that they came from a much bigger house. And in the background, you can just make out a ruined wall which suggests there were other buildings there."
Mrs James and her merry band of helpers picked up their mattocks on September 15 to begin the very first Playstreet excavation. The project has been made possible with the help of a Heritage Lottery grant but with less than a fortnight allocated for the dig, it has been a race against time to find out as much as possible.
Mrs James said: "It's quite unusual for a community dig like this to happen. It's been a great opportunity for us to excavate and the volunteers have been wonderful. I think they have really enjoyed it and part of that is because it's a way for them to find out more about the history of where they live and understand a bit more about the past. But we can't expect to find out everything about Playstreet in such a short time so we will hopefully be able to excavate again in the future."
Shards of medieval pottery, pot handles and rims, some dating back more than 800 years, have turned up in abundance at the site, backing up the theory it was occupied for several centuries.
A puzzling amount of stone has been unearthed - both limestone and churt - and Mrs James hopes geophysical surveyswill help reveal just what the rubble represents. She said: "It's been very difficult to tell. We know that those two types of stones don't occur together geologically so they must have been brought here for building. But whether we are looking at walls or part of a road of a farm yard, we can't tell at this stage."
During the two-week dig, everyone from pensioners and archaeology students to professionals and primary school pupils have been on site to lend a hand, making the back-breaking toil through rockhard ground a community effort. Mrs James said: "We've had a really nice atmosphere here during the dig and it's been hard work but good fun."
Neroche Parishes Local History Group plans to hold an open evening later in the year to present the Playstreet findings in detail.
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