Ipswich, in Suffolk in eastern England, is a town brimming with archaeology. Anglo-Saxon evidence is particularly abundant, as Ipswich’s urban origins can be traced back to the 7th/8th century AD, when it was Gipeswic, one of a small number of specialist craft and trading centres (wics or emporia) that arose in Anglo-Saxon England at this…
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We’re going on a bere hunt
Cereal farming emerged around 11 or 12 thousand years ago, in the so-called Fertile Crescent of the Middle East. Over the next 5 or 6 thousands years, arable farming ploughed its way westwards and northwards across mainland Europe, over to the British Isles, up into Scotland, even unto Orkney, Shetland, and the somewhat less fertile…
An unusual use for ale
George Ewart Evans (1909-1988), British folklorist and oral history pioneer, has left a rich legacy of insight and information concerning rural life in England before the mechanisation of farming. His books and recordings are chock-full of golden nuggets, anecdotes and rustic remarks from ways of life that are increasingly beyond living memory. Most of his…
A brief history of my breakfast
So there was Earth. And on Earth formed the oceans. In the oceans grew simple-celled life, and these are the prokaryotes. From the prokaryotes grew complex-celled life, and these are the eukaryotes. From the eukaryotes grew multicellular life, some of which photosynthesised, and thus came plants to grow on the land and in the waters…
The History of the Countryside
Of course I had consulted it. Of course I’d cited it. But it’s taken a while to sit down and read it – properly, finally – from cover to cover. And it feels like a literary pilgrimage. What am I taking about? None other than “Rackham’s Countryside”, or more formally: Rackham, O. 1986. The History…
No spelt, please, we’re Saxon
My guest post from the “Not Just Dormice” blog: https://notjustdormice.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/no-spelt-please-were-saxon/
Fashionably early?
After a long pause, the blog is back – and it’s a blog of surprises. These particular surprises reached my attention through both British Archaeology magazine and the online news pages of Science. For those of you lucky enough to have full-blown access to Science, the reference is this: Smith, O., Momber, G. et al.…
Bringlish Landscapes
“That’s a classic,” said the man in the Oxfam shop, tapping the front cover of the little paperback. I nodded in agreement. “I thought it was about time I bought a copy.” There was a pregnant pause. “That’ll be one ninety-nine,” he intoned. And so it was that I bought a copy of a true…
Makin’ hay
OK, so there I was, strolling leisurely through the Tyrolean countryside in Austria on a beautiful sunny day, when out pops a bit of striking agricultural heritage. “Hello,” thought I, “this could be a little something for the ol’ blog back home.” And so it proves. Ladies and gentlemen, meine Damen und Herren, meet the…
Dropping by and oats and rye at Lyminge
What better way to spend a fine summer’s day than visiting the fine fields of south-east Kent? Where the fields are ripe with swaying golden corn, and Anglo-Saxon archaeology? Yes, it’s Lyminge, and it was well worth spending seven+ hours on the train to visit this year’s dig. As ever, you can follow the story…