Conference will review recent archaeological investigations in Currently Occupied Rural Settlements (CORS) in eastern England
Recent archaeological research in rural settlements in eastern England
Organised by Medieval Settlement Research Group
University of Lincoln (UK)
29.04.2016 – 01.05.2016
The Medieval Settlement Research Group’s 30th anniversary conference will review recent archaeological investigations in Currently Occupied Rural Settlements (CORS) in eastern England, where much exciting and innovative work has recently been carried out. There will be a special focus on the contribution of community projects to the academic study of rural settlements: community archaeology is increasingly popular across the UK and has made possible new discoveries in and around many settlements of medieval origin where people live today. This focus on non-deserted medieval settlements is also reflected in current scholarly research which recognises that most medieval settlements did not become permanently deserted, thus encompassing the non-deserted majority is a priority if understanding of the period is to be advanced.
Conference papers from within and beyond academia will span new discoveries made in, and by, rural communities from Essex to Yorkshire as well as new scholarly research into the origins and development of currently occupied rural settlements from the sixth century to the sixteenth. It will also provide an opportunity to consider how the increasing amount of information from rural communities can contribute to scholarly enquiry into the origins, development, decline and revival of medieval rural settlements, reflecting MSRG’s aim to advance and promote as widely as possible the study of historic settlements which are home to millions today, and to 90% of the medieval population. It is open to anyone with an interest in medieval rural villages, hamlets and farms.
The 2016 conference will start on Friday evening with a wine reception at the University of Lincoln and a tour of the historic quarter including the magnificent cathedral (described by William Cobbett as “the finest building in the whole world”). Saturday’s full day of papers will be followed by an optional conference dinner, while papers on Sunday morning will be rounded off with a trip to the nearby deserted medieval village of Riseholme, iconic as the first DMV excavation to be published in Medieval Archaeology, whose future may hold exciting possibilities. The conference will thus encompass medieval settlements deserted and inhabited, urban and rural.
SEE FULL PROGRAMME:
Programme for Recent archaeological research in rural settlements in Eastern England
FEATURED PHOTO:
Gainsthorpe Farm is all that remains of the deserted medieval village of Gainsthorpe © Richard Croft