Close to the Edge: New Perspectives on the Architecture, Function and Regional Geographies of the Coastal Promontory Forts of the Castlemartin Peninsula, South Pembrokeshire, Wales

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 65-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Barker ◽  
Toby Driver
Keyword(s):  
Royal Commission ◽  
Seasonal Activity ◽  
Coastal Geology ◽  
The South ◽  
Monumental Architecture ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Special Places

Many of Pembrokeshire's 58 coastal promontory forts are iconic and well-known monuments. They occur in a density unparalleled in the rest of Wales. Morphology is highly variable, as is Pembrokeshire's ever-changing coastal geology, from resistant granite in the north to softer limestones and sandstones in the south. New surveys by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) of three promontory forts on the Castlemartin Peninsula in south Pembrokeshire – Linney Head Camp, Flimston Bay Camp, and Greenala Point Fort – have demonstrated how complex and different each of these sites is and, as part of a wider study of the Castlemartin Peninsula, have raised new questions concerning our understanding of this monument type. Dominating and shaping the discussion is our modern-day perception that coastal promontory forts are remote, exposed, and dangerous places. How much is this an accurate portrayal of prehistoric attitudes to the sea or was their outlook more mundane and practical? Did coastal promontory forts share identical functions as defended domestic/agricultural settlements, exploiting a seaward position for ease of defence, or were they indeed special places? Their highly variable architecture – coupled with some unusual characteristics of topography and setting – may indicate varying functions among even closely neighbouring sites. The evidence revealed from the study suggests that some coastal promontory forts may have been exclusively used for ceremonial or seasonal activity, while others may have been quite different prestigious residences investing heavily in monumental architecture. In conclusion, there is considerable merit in the detailed resurvey and re-investigation of coastal promontory forts within distinct regional groups to shed new light on our understanding of this later prehistoric monument type.

Landscape Narratives: the South East Cheviots Project

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 323-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Topping ◽  
Keith Blood ◽  
Mark Bowden ◽  
Anne Carter ◽  
Vickie Fenner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Change ◽  
National Park ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Landscape Approach ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Field Systems ◽  
English Heritage

‘The huts are now roofless, the fires of the hearths quenched for ever, the fortifications levelled; yet these ruins have out-lasted the erections of more civilized times, and they still remain to tell us something of the busy population who hunted, tended flocks, tilled the ground, and quarrelled and fought, at a very distant period (in the valley of the Breamish)’. George Tate (1863, 302) This paper describes the results of the South East Cheviots Project undertaken by the former Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME; now part of English Heritage) during the 1980s. An area of 66 square kilometres was analytically recorded, ranging from the Breamish Valley in the north to Alnham in the south and from Brandon in the east to Schill Moor in the west. The project recorded with metrical accuracy all forms of cultivation remains, field systems, and settlements of all periods (only the prehistoric evidence will be reviewed in this paper). This landscape approach has led to a greater understanding of settlement histories in these remarkably well-preserved uplands. Recent excavations undertaken by the Northumberland Archaeological Group (NAG) and Durham University, under the auspices of the Northumberland National Park Authority (NNPA), have helped to clarify and contextualise further aspects of the chronology of settlement and landscape change recorded by the SECP.

V.—Westminster Abbey: The Timber Roofs of the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster

Archaeologia ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 155-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. McDowall ◽  
J. T. Smith ◽  
C. F. Stell
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Great Part ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Kind Permission ◽  
General Development ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Monuments

The timber roofs above the main vaults of the abbey, coeval with the parts of the building they cover, are illustrated in J. P. Neale and E. W. Brayley, History and Antiquities of the Abbey Church of St. Peter, Westminster (1823), ii. These important medieval roofs are described only very briefly in an addendum to the Inventory of Westminster Abbey by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments published in 1924 (entry no. 22a, slip p. 58), and no detailed description of them has so far been published. They underwent heavy restoration at the beginning of the eighteenth century, but survived in great part until the present repairs under the direction of Mr. S. E. Dykes Bower were put in hand. By 1964 the whole of the nave roof had been reconstructed and the roof over the south transept had been taken down and reconstruction was in progress. No major repairs to the roofs of the presbytery or the north transept had been started. At this stage, by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter, the Royal Commission was given facilities to make detailed records of the surviving medieval structures. In the following account the documentary evidence relating to their building and repair is outlined, their construction is described in some detail, and, finally, their historical context and their setting in the general development of roof construction are discussed. The photographs were taken by Mr. J. Parkinson, and the work has been co-ordinated by Mr. A. R. Dufty, Secretary to the Commission.

Roman York: Excavations in 1955

1956 ◽  
Vol 46 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 76-90
Author(s):  
H. G. Ramm
Keyword(s):  
Second Century ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
East Side ◽  
The South ◽  
North West ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Stone Wall ◽  
Period 2 ◽  
Historical Monuments

The excavation described below was undertaken by the writer on behalf of the Ministry of Works and the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, but the present article is his own sole responsibility.The defences of the Legionary Fortress at York were first scientifically examined by the late S. N. Miller in 1925–8 and the report on the work in 1925–7 appeared in this Journal. As a result of his work we have a satisfactory framework into which to fit subsequent and previous discoveries. The structural sequence arrived at by Miller can be briefly summarized as follows:—Period 1. A campaigning base deduced by Miller from occupation earth in what he considered to be part of the clay rampart of Period 2 and dated by him to the beginning of the governorship of Petillius Cerialis (A.D. 71–4).Period 2. The first defences of which Miller recognized structural evidence consisted of a massive rampart of clay, dated by him to the close of the governorship of Cerialis.Period 3. In the early part of the second century stone gates and towers were built and linked by a stone wall. The south-east gate was built in A.D. 108–9, but some work was still being done in Hadrian's reign. The clay bank of Period 2 remained behind the stone wall.Period 4. At the end of the second century there was an extensive restoration under Severus. A new stone wall was built, at any rate on the south-east side, immediately behind the wall of Period 2 which was completely removed except for the foundations.Period 5. At the turn of the third and fourth centuries the south-west and north-west sides and part of the north-east side were reconstructed, with projecting multangular corner and interval towers on the river front (fig. 9).

III.—The Tombs of Archbishops Walter de Gray (1216–55) and Godfrey de Ludham (1258–65) in York Minster, and their Contents

Archaeologia ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 101-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. G. Ramm
Keyword(s):  
British Museum ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
The South ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Full Discussion

The restoration in 1967–8 of the tomb of Archbishop Walter de Gray in the south transept of York Minster was undertaken during the general programme of restoration of the Minster as a whole. The dismantling of the tomb afforded an opportunity to open the underlying coffin and examine its contents. Both coffin and contents proved to be of outstanding interest and the results were communicated to the Society on 7th November 1968 by some of the authors responsible for this paper. The second tomb, identified as that of Archbishop Godfrey de Ludham, was opened in February 1969 and the contents, though less spectacular, afford so many useful comparisons with those from the de Gray burial that it was thought useful to present the findings in a combined paper. I must emphasize that my own contributions, on the pastoral staves, are brief factual statements inserted in the interests of speedy publication; they are not intended to replace the full discussion of them which had originally been hoped for from Mr. Michael Taylor before he relinquished his post at the British Museum. The Society is deeply indebted to the Dean, the Very Reverend Alan Richardson, M.A., D.D., and Chapter of York Minster for permitting the original communication and for encouraging the subsequent study and publication of the notable material from both these tombs. Grateful thanks are also due to the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) and the Trustees of the British Museum for the provision of the excellent photographs which illustrate this paper (pls. XXXVI–LXV) and for their permission to publish them.

The Excavation of a Durotrigian Farmstead near Tollard Royal in Cranbourne Chase, Southern England

1969 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 102-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Wainwright ◽  
R. J. Harrison ◽  
A. M. Evans ◽  
A. Bowman ◽  
P. F. Bird
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
The Other ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Public Building ◽  
Southern England ◽  
Southern Sector ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Large Round ◽  
The Village

The site whose excavation is here recorded is a small kite-shaped enclosure all but obliterated by ploughing. It is situated (ST (179) 942197; 6-inch sheet ST 91 NW) at the southern tip of a spur known as Berwick Down 1 mile north of the village of Tollard Royal on the borders of Wiltshire and Dorset. It is surrounded on its south or downhill side by a semi-circular bank and ditch. The locality has been recently described briefly by H. C. Bowen and P. Fowler whose plan (1966, 46–8, fig. 2) is here reproduced (fig. 2). The other two sites occupying the 16 acres of the spur comprise:(1) An Iron Age settlement to the north consisting of a concentration of unenclosed pits, a large round house demarcated by a pennanular palisade groove and two cross-dykes.(2) A circular enclosure 2½ acres in extent containing Romano-British hut platforms and crossed in its southern sector by a modern fence. To the north of this fence the earthworks have never been ploughed and are in a state of preservation, only too rarely found in southern England. To the south of the fence the downland has been heavily ploughed over a number of years.The earthworks of the kite-shaped enclosure had become so degraded that in 1962 the Ministry of Public Building and Works initiated a trial excavation under the direction of Mr E. Greenfield. With the assistance of Miss V. Russell, Mr Greenfield covered the area with a 10 foot grid of test-holes which were expanded into trenches when required. In 1965 the site was put down to grass and the earthworks planned in the spring by members of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, by which time the bank and ditch of the kite-shaped enclosure were virtually invisible. In August and September of that year the interior of the enclosure was completely stripped by the author on behalf of the Ministry of Public Building and Works.

Segmented Embanked Pit-Alignments in the North York Moors: A Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England

1993 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 383-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Lofthouse
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
North West ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Burial Mounds ◽  
And Function

This report describes a group of distinctive earthworks in the north-east of the North York Moors (fig. 1) that, prior to investigation by the RCHME, had been categorised as double pit-alignments. The earthworks consist of two or three pairs of pits, with the spoil from the pits spread into parallel enclosing banks. The orientation of the segments is fairly consistent along an axis north-west to south-east; in each case there seems to be a tangential alignment on burial mounds, putatively Bronze Age in date, which may give a clue as to their age and function.

A Homestead Moat at Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire

1946 ◽  
Vol 26 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 138-144
Author(s):  
Audrey Williams
Keyword(s):  
Outer Edge ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
The South ◽  
North West ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Ancient Monuments ◽  
The Village ◽  
Western Half

A small moated site in Scales Park near the village of Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire (fig. 1), has lately been examined by the Ancient Monuments Department of the Ministry of Works. It lies just within the Hertfordshire-Essex boundary, four miles north-east of Buntingford and eight miles north-west of Bishop's Stortford. On the O.S. 6-in. sheet (Herts. 9 NE.) it is marked as The Warren, but not as an antiquity; nor is it included among the 139 homestead moats recorded for the county by the Royal Commission.Scales Park comprises something over 400 acres of well-grown woodland on the plateau which forms the watershed of the rivers Stort and Quin, both flowing south to join eventually the Thames. Its height above sea-level is 450 ft. on the northwest, declining gently to 400 ft. on the east and south. Geologically the area consists of chalky clay over the chalk.The moat of the Warren, enclosing an approximately square island about a quarter of an acre in size, varied in width from 10 to 25 ft. and at the time of excavation was filled with black boggy silt. Round its outer edge ran a low much-spread bank, 20 to 30 ft. wide but not more than 2 ft. high. The enclosure presented a puzzling combination of mounds and hollows. A large mound, 9 ft. 6 in. high, on a raised platform occupied the north-eastern half. The south-western half had centrally a similar platform, 5 ft. above the surface of the moat, with flanking mounds, 6 and 7 ft. high, at the corners (pl. xxiv b). The cavities between the mounds were practically level with the moat; slight ridges barred the western hollow and the south end of the eastern hollow.

Dorset in depth - John C. Barrett, Richard Bradley & Martin Green. Landscape, monuments and society: the prehistory of Cranborne Chase. x + 255 pages, 2 plates, 116 figures, 29 tables. 1991. Cambridge & New York (NY): Cambridge University Press; ISSN 0-521-32128-X hardback £35 & $59.50. - John Barrett, Richard Bradley & Melanie Hall (ed.). Papers on the prehistoric archaeology of Cranborne Chase. iv + 251 pages, 11 plates, 78 figures. 1991. Oxford: Oxbow Books (Oxbow Monograph 11); ISSN 0-946897-31-X paperback £24 & $48. - Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (by H.C. Bowen, edited by B.N. Eagles). The archaeology of Bokerley Dyke. xiv + 127 pages, 53 plates, 66 figures, 7 area plans. 1990. London: HMSO; ISSN 0-11-300019-7 paperback £35. - Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (by H.C. Bowen, edited by B.N. Eagles). The archaeology of Bokerley Dyke. xii + 37 pages, 1991. London: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England; ISSN 1-873592-00-0 paperback free on request from RCHME Fortress House, 23 Savile Row, London W1x 2JQ. - Peter J. Woodward. The south Dorset Ridgeway survey and excavations 1977-84. x + 174 pages, 33 plates, 72 figures, 31 tables, 3 microfiches.1991. Dorchester: Dorset Natural History & Archaeological Society (Monograph 8); ISSN 0-900341-30-0 paperback £12.95 + £?price? postage & handling from the Society at the County Museum, Dorchester, Dorset.

Antiquity ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (249) ◽  
pp. 988-992
Author(s):  
Peter Fowler
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Prehistoric Archaeology ◽  
The South ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Historical Monuments

The Excavation of Stone Circles near Penmaenmawr North Wales

1960 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 303-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Royal Commission ◽  
The South ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
South West ◽  
North Wales ◽  
Ancient Monuments

The moorland south of Penmaenmawr in Caernarvonshire, extending from the great outcrop of Penmaenmawr-Graig Lwyd rock, well-known for its group of stone-axe factories, as far south as Foel Lwyd and Tal-y-fan, and averaging 1,200–1,400 feet in height above O.D., bears a rich concentration of prehistoric monuments. The best known of these is probably the stone circle known as the Druids' Circle, but nearby are many other circles and cairns (fig. 1) which will be referred to in this text by the serial numbers used in the Caernarvonshire Inventory of the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire. In the present paper an account will be given of the excavation of the Druids' Circle (no. 277) and also of a tiny ring of five large stones (no. 275) to the north-east and of a small embanked circle (no. 278) to the south-west. Apart from other circles (nos. 271a and 279) and cairns (nos. 271b and c, 273 and 274) there is a large mound of stones with an encircling ditch and bank (no. 425), approximating in form to the Wessex bell-barrows. To the south of these, on the summit of Moelfre, is another small cairn (no. 419), and in the featureless moor-land south of Moelfre, known as Bryniau Bugeilydd, is a large cairn cemetery including at least two examples (nos. 418 and 429a) of flat barrows with stone kerbs and central cists, suggesting a Highland Zone version of the Wessex disc-barrow.

Long-term Cyclic Variations of Prominences, Green and Red Coronae over Solar Cycles

2000 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 201-204
Author(s):  
Vojtech Rušin ◽  
Milan Minarovjech ◽  
Milan Rybanský
Keyword(s):  
Emission Lines ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Green Line ◽  
Solar Cycles ◽  
The South ◽  
Coronal Emission ◽  
Local Maxima ◽  
The North ◽  
Cyclic Variations

AbstractLong-term cyclic variations in the distribution of prominences and intensities of green (530.3 nm) and red (637.4 nm) coronal emission lines over solar cycles 18–23 are presented. Polar prominence branches will reach the poles at different epochs in cycle 23: the north branch at the beginning in 2002 and the south branch a year later (2003), respectively. The local maxima of intensities in the green line show both poleward- and equatorward-migrating branches. The poleward branches will reach the poles around cycle maxima like prominences, while the equatorward branches show a duration of 18 years and will end in cycle minima (2007). The red corona shows mostly equatorward branches. The possibility that these branches begin to develop at high latitudes in the preceding cycles cannot be excluded.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document