Foreword by Ian Riddler.
Tatberht lived on a farmstead on the outskirts of Lundenwic between the 8th and 9th centuries, an area now occupied by the National Portrait Gallery. He was clearly a literate man since he elegantly inscribed his name into a sheep bone taken from the dinner table. Although he was largely self-sufficient, his relationship with the core settlement would have been central to his life. He would have brought in livestock on the hoof to be slaughtered and consumed within Lundenwic, as well as supplying the residents with other goods produced on his farm.
During his lifetime Tatberht would have seen first-hand the thriving and bustling settlement of Lundenwic and may even have witnessed the first Viking raids and experienced the impact this had on his and the community’s livelihood. This book introduces the results of four archaeological excavations in and around Lundenwic and presents new perspectives on Tatberht’s London.
The excavations were located at 28-31 James Street, the Lyceum Theatre, 21-24 Maiden Lane and the National Portrait Gallery. The book also includes a technical study of Middle Saxon fired daub together with experiments reconstructing wattle and daub.
Author(s): Jim Leary, Gary Brown, James Rackham, Chris Pickard, Richard Hughes
Series: Pre-Construct Archaeology Monographs, 2
Publisher: Pre-Construct Archaeology
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 178
City: London
Contributors vii
Foreword viii
Figures ix
Tables xi
Summary xiii
Acknowledgements xv
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Geology and topography 3
Archaeological and historical background 3
Chapter 2: Life and Death in the Heart of the Settlement: excavations at 28-31 James Street / By Jim Leary 6
The archaeological sequence 6
The pottery 14
The loomweights 19
The non-ceramic finds 22
The Offa coin 27
The iron slag 27
The fired daub 27
The animal bone 28
The plant remains 35
The charred honeybees 38
The human bone 39
The radiocarbon dating 39
Chapter 3: Pits, Bones and Foodstuffs: excavations at the Lyceum Theatre, Exeter Street / By Gary Brown and James Rackham 40
The archaeological sequence 41
The pottery 48
The small finds 52
The metal working 60
The inscribed echinoid 61
The environmental archaeology 61
Chapter 4: Maiden Lane Revisited: excavations at 21-24 Maiden Lane and 6-7 Exchange Court / By Jim Leary and Kevin Wooldridge 73
The archaeological sequence 73
The pottery 77
The small finds 82
The animal bone 84
The plant remains 85
Chapter 5: A Middle Saxon Suburban Farmstead: excavations at the National Portrait Gallery / By Chris Pickard 87
The archaeological sequence 87
The pottery 91
The loomweights 95
The ceramic building material 97
The fired daub 97
The non-ceramic finds 98
The coin 102
The runic inscription 103
The iron slag 104
The animal bones 105
The plant remains 112
Chapter 6: Wattle and Daub: a technical and experimental study based on materials from the National Portrait Gallery / By Richard Hughes 115
'Fired daub' archaeological resources 116
Wattle and daub material research 120
The structural characteristics of a wattle and daub building 130
Glossary 136
Chapter 7: Facets of Tatberht’s Lundenwic: a discussion 141
The sequence in Lundenwic 141
Production in Lundenwic: antler, bone and horn working 145
The environmental evidence from Lundenwic 148
Bibliography 151
Index 159
