Julian specialises in the archaeology of Early Medieval England. He has directed excavations of settlements at Cottam, Cowlam, Burdale, and Wharram Percy. He has also excavated the only Viking cremation cemetery in the British Isles at Heath Wood, Ingleby. He undertook one of the first research projects to make use of metal-detected evidence to investigate the Viking Landscape and Economy of England, and he is currently collaborating with Professor Dawn Hadley, to investigate the Viking Great Army of the late 9th century and winter camp at Torksey, with an extended project, Tents to Towns, on the broader impact of the Viking Great Army.Julian is also a leading expert on computer applications in archaeology and has authored and edited numerous books and papers on computer applications. He is Co-Director of Internet Archaeology, an electronic journal developed in York, and Director of the Archaeology Data Service, the national digital data archive for archaeological research. He is Deputy Coordinator of the European ARIADNE e-infrastructure for archaeological research.
In ad 872–3 a large Viking Army overwintered at Torksey, on the River Trent in Lincolnshire. We h... more In ad 872–3 a large Viking Army overwintered at Torksey, on the River Trent in Lincolnshire. We have previously published the archaeological evidence for its camp, but in this paper we explore what happened after the Army moved on. We integrate the findings of previous excavations with the outcomes of our fieldwork, including magnetometer and metal-detector surveys, fieldwalking and targeted excavation of a kiln and cemetery enclosure ditch. We provide new evidence for the growth of the important Anglo-Saxon town at Torksey and the development of its pottery industry, and report on the discovery of the first glazed Torksey ware, in an area which has a higher density of Late Saxon kilns than anywhere else in England. Our study of the pottery industry indicates its continental antecedents, while stable isotope analysis of human remains from the associated cemetery indicates that it included non-locals, and we demonstrate artefactual links between the nascent town and the Vikings in th...
Our research on the winter camp of the Viking Great Army at Torksey (Lincolnshire) has demonstrat... more Our research on the winter camp of the Viking Great Army at Torksey (Lincolnshire) has demonstrated that the assemblage of over 1500 artefacts was largely deposited in a single episode, over the winter of 872-3. This assemblage is mirrored at a second camp at Aldwark (North Yorkshire) and together these sites therefore provide an artefactual signature for the activities of the Great Army, and its offshoots. Subsequently, we have sought traces of that signature beyond the winter camps. Returning to the archetypal Anglo-Scandinavian settlement at Cottam (East Yorkshire), an initial but transient Great Army phase has been identified, prior to the establishment of the Anglo-Scandinavian farmstead. This paper defines the characteristics of the Great Army signature, and identifies some 30 additional sites where it can now be seen. Some lie in the vicinity of former Anglo-Saxon estate centres, royal residences, and major churches. Many are at strategic locations, along the primary communic...
Owing to its early lead in the world of digital preservation, fostered by the creation of the Arc... more Owing to its early lead in the world of digital preservation, fostered by the creation of the Archaeology Data Service in 1996, the UK is often considered to be in an advanced position for digital archiving of archaeological data. In some ways it is, but the situation is also complex, due to a highly fragmented landscape, spread across four nations, and multiple sectors. This overview article describes the organisation and structure of archaeology across the UK, and the provision for digital preservation and access. Digital archiving is still far from standard, but the situation is improving, and rests on firm foundations.
The aim of the Torksey evaluation was to complete a catalogue of the numismatic and metalwork evi... more The aim of the Torksey evaluation was to complete a catalogue of the numismatic and metalwork evidence and to undertake an archaeological assessment using field-walking, metal-detector survey and geophysics, in order to understand the extent and development of the landscape and the Viking camp
Archaeology is in a special position in that much of the creation of its data results from destru... more Archaeology is in a special position in that much of the creation of its data results from destruction of primary evidence, making access to data all the more critical in order to test, assess, and subsequently reanalyze and reinterpret both the data and the hypotheses arising from them. Over the years, archaeologists have amassed a vast collection of fieldwork and postexcavation data archives, a significant proportion of which remain unpublished. Access to data, even those which are published, is often difficult or inconvenient at best. The Archaeology Data Service (ADS), established October l"* 1996, is working towards provision of digital data over the Internet through an integrated on-line catalogue to its collections and the collections of partner organisations. The work of the ADS thus proceeds along two tracks: digital preservation and facilitating access to digital information. 1 Archaeological data Initiatives around the globe are exploring access to and preservation o...
The growing dependence on digital data acquisition within traditional research environments, and ... more The growing dependence on digital data acquisition within traditional research environments, and increasingly within the commercial sectors, of archaeological practice has seen an associated growing awareness of the need for sustainable long-term preservation of these datasets. Whilst the preservation of such data has become more and more important, the changing economic situation has also been associated with a rise in demand for the dissemination and reuse of archaeological datasets. The Archaeology Data Service (ADS) has a mandate from numerous bodies to provide digital repository services for digital archaeological outputs from the commercial and research communities and has over fifteen years of experience in the preservation and dissemination of archaeological digital datasets. The ADS is, therefore, well positioned to develop the necessary systems which allow direct user deposition of complex datasets, but which also rationalize and automate the ingestion process and the capt...
In 1996 two metal detectorists discovered one of the most important Viking sites in Northern Engl... more In 1996 two metal detectorists discovered one of the most important Viking sites in Northern England. Yet the site has had a very chequered and at times bizarre history and even now, although Garet...
From 1993–95 investigation of a so-called ‘productive site’ known as Cottam B revealed an Anglo-S... more From 1993–95 investigation of a so-called ‘productive site’ known as Cottam B revealed an Anglo-Saxon settlement occupied during the eighth to ninth centuries AD, succeeded in the late ninth to early tenth century by an Anglo-Scandinavian farmstead. The final report (Richards 1999a) concluded that the Anglo-Saxon settlement may have been an outlying farming and hunting dependency set within a royal estate centred upon Driffield, but that following the Viking partition of East Yorkshire it developed into an independent proto-manor. In subsequent years, fieldwork was undertaken at other early medieval sites in the immediate locality. At Cottam A (in 1996) and later at Church Farm, Cowlam (in 2003), contemporary Anglo-Saxon occupation was revealed at both sites. These sites provide a local context for the results from Cottam B, and show widespread and dispersed settlement foci in this part of the Wolds in the eighth and ninth centuries. They illuminate how a number of outlying dependencies of a single estate were interrelated, and how they contributed to the evolution of the Late Saxon and medieval settlement pattern. This paper provides a summary report of the archaeology of Cottam A and Cowlam with a supporting digital archive, and draws conclusions about the nature of the activities and interrelationships within the proposed Anglo-Saxon estate in which these settlements were likely to have been situated.
Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information N... more Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information Network (BCIN). Editor: Richards, Julian; Robinson, Damian Title of Source: Digital archives from excavation and fieldwork ...
In ad 872–3 a large Viking Army overwintered at Torksey, on the River Trent in Lincolnshire. We h... more In ad 872–3 a large Viking Army overwintered at Torksey, on the River Trent in Lincolnshire. We have previously published the archaeological evidence for its camp, but in this paper we explore what happened after the Army moved on. We integrate the findings of previous excavations with the outcomes of our fieldwork, including magnetometer and metal-detector surveys, fieldwalking and targeted excavation of a kiln and cemetery enclosure ditch. We provide new evidence for the growth of the important Anglo-Saxon town at Torksey and the development of its pottery industry, and report on the discovery of the first glazed Torksey ware, in an area which has a higher density of Late Saxon kilns than anywhere else in England. Our study of the pottery industry indicates its continental antecedents, while stable isotope analysis of human remains from the associated cemetery indicates that it included non-locals, and we demonstrate artefactual links between the nascent town and the Vikings in th...
Our research on the winter camp of the Viking Great Army at Torksey (Lincolnshire) has demonstrat... more Our research on the winter camp of the Viking Great Army at Torksey (Lincolnshire) has demonstrated that the assemblage of over 1500 artefacts was largely deposited in a single episode, over the winter of 872-3. This assemblage is mirrored at a second camp at Aldwark (North Yorkshire) and together these sites therefore provide an artefactual signature for the activities of the Great Army, and its offshoots. Subsequently, we have sought traces of that signature beyond the winter camps. Returning to the archetypal Anglo-Scandinavian settlement at Cottam (East Yorkshire), an initial but transient Great Army phase has been identified, prior to the establishment of the Anglo-Scandinavian farmstead. This paper defines the characteristics of the Great Army signature, and identifies some 30 additional sites where it can now be seen. Some lie in the vicinity of former Anglo-Saxon estate centres, royal residences, and major churches. Many are at strategic locations, along the primary communic...
Owing to its early lead in the world of digital preservation, fostered by the creation of the Arc... more Owing to its early lead in the world of digital preservation, fostered by the creation of the Archaeology Data Service in 1996, the UK is often considered to be in an advanced position for digital archiving of archaeological data. In some ways it is, but the situation is also complex, due to a highly fragmented landscape, spread across four nations, and multiple sectors. This overview article describes the organisation and structure of archaeology across the UK, and the provision for digital preservation and access. Digital archiving is still far from standard, but the situation is improving, and rests on firm foundations.
The aim of the Torksey evaluation was to complete a catalogue of the numismatic and metalwork evi... more The aim of the Torksey evaluation was to complete a catalogue of the numismatic and metalwork evidence and to undertake an archaeological assessment using field-walking, metal-detector survey and geophysics, in order to understand the extent and development of the landscape and the Viking camp
Archaeology is in a special position in that much of the creation of its data results from destru... more Archaeology is in a special position in that much of the creation of its data results from destruction of primary evidence, making access to data all the more critical in order to test, assess, and subsequently reanalyze and reinterpret both the data and the hypotheses arising from them. Over the years, archaeologists have amassed a vast collection of fieldwork and postexcavation data archives, a significant proportion of which remain unpublished. Access to data, even those which are published, is often difficult or inconvenient at best. The Archaeology Data Service (ADS), established October l"* 1996, is working towards provision of digital data over the Internet through an integrated on-line catalogue to its collections and the collections of partner organisations. The work of the ADS thus proceeds along two tracks: digital preservation and facilitating access to digital information. 1 Archaeological data Initiatives around the globe are exploring access to and preservation o...
The growing dependence on digital data acquisition within traditional research environments, and ... more The growing dependence on digital data acquisition within traditional research environments, and increasingly within the commercial sectors, of archaeological practice has seen an associated growing awareness of the need for sustainable long-term preservation of these datasets. Whilst the preservation of such data has become more and more important, the changing economic situation has also been associated with a rise in demand for the dissemination and reuse of archaeological datasets. The Archaeology Data Service (ADS) has a mandate from numerous bodies to provide digital repository services for digital archaeological outputs from the commercial and research communities and has over fifteen years of experience in the preservation and dissemination of archaeological digital datasets. The ADS is, therefore, well positioned to develop the necessary systems which allow direct user deposition of complex datasets, but which also rationalize and automate the ingestion process and the capt...
In 1996 two metal detectorists discovered one of the most important Viking sites in Northern Engl... more In 1996 two metal detectorists discovered one of the most important Viking sites in Northern England. Yet the site has had a very chequered and at times bizarre history and even now, although Garet...
From 1993–95 investigation of a so-called ‘productive site’ known as Cottam B revealed an Anglo-S... more From 1993–95 investigation of a so-called ‘productive site’ known as Cottam B revealed an Anglo-Saxon settlement occupied during the eighth to ninth centuries AD, succeeded in the late ninth to early tenth century by an Anglo-Scandinavian farmstead. The final report (Richards 1999a) concluded that the Anglo-Saxon settlement may have been an outlying farming and hunting dependency set within a royal estate centred upon Driffield, but that following the Viking partition of East Yorkshire it developed into an independent proto-manor. In subsequent years, fieldwork was undertaken at other early medieval sites in the immediate locality. At Cottam A (in 1996) and later at Church Farm, Cowlam (in 2003), contemporary Anglo-Saxon occupation was revealed at both sites. These sites provide a local context for the results from Cottam B, and show widespread and dispersed settlement foci in this part of the Wolds in the eighth and ninth centuries. They illuminate how a number of outlying dependencies of a single estate were interrelated, and how they contributed to the evolution of the Late Saxon and medieval settlement pattern. This paper provides a summary report of the archaeology of Cottam A and Cowlam with a supporting digital archive, and draws conclusions about the nature of the activities and interrelationships within the proposed Anglo-Saxon estate in which these settlements were likely to have been situated.
Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information N... more Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information Network (BCIN). Editor: Richards, Julian; Robinson, Damian Title of Source: Digital archives from excavation and fieldwork ...
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