Ten Harkel, Aleida Tessa (2011) Lincoln in the Viking age : a 'town' in context. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield.
Abstract
This thesis investigates the development of Lincoln in the period c. 870-1000 AD.
Traditional approaches to urban settlements often focus on chronology, and treat
towns in isolation from their surrounding regions. Taking Lincoln as a case study,
this PhD research, in contrast, analyses the identities of the settlement and its
inhabitants from a regional perspective, focusing on the historic region of Lindsey,
and places it in the context of the Scandinavian settlement. Developing an
integrated and interdisciplinary approach that can be applied to datasets from
different regions and time periods, this thesis analyses four categories of material
culture - funerary deposits, coinage, metalwork and pottery - each of which occur
in significant numbers inside and outside Lincoln.
Chapter 1 summarises previous work on late Anglo-Saxon towns and introduces the
approach adopted in this thesis. Chapter 2 provides a discussion of Lincoln's
development during the Anglo-Saxon period, and introduces the datasets.
Highlighting problems encountered during past investigations, this chapter also
discusses the main methodological considerations relevant to the wide range of
different categories of material culture that stand central to this thesis, which are
retrieved through a combination of intrusive and non-intrusive methods under
varying circumstances.
Chapters 3-6 focus on funerary deposits, coinage, metalwork and pottery
respectively, through analysis of distribution patterns and the impact of changes in
production processes on the identity of Lincoln and its inhabitants. It is argued that
a straightforward distinction between 'town' and 'country' is too simplistic. Viking-
;
Age Lincoln was firmly embedded within the surrounding region, and neither Lincoln
nor Lindsey was a homogenous entity. The formation of Lincoln's 'urban' identity
was the outcome of changes in late ninth- and tenth-century socio-political
structures, many of which had been set in motion centuries before the
Scandinavian settlement.
Metadata
Awarding institution: | University of Sheffield |
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Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > Archaeology (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Archaeology (Sheffield) |
Identification Number/EthosID: | uk.bl.ethos.531161 |
Depositing User: | EThOS Import Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 29 Nov 2016 11:51 |
Last Modified: | 29 Nov 2016 11:51 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:14545 |
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