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Colchester Archaeological Report 1

Aspects of Anglo-Saxon and Norman Colchester provides evidence on the way in which a major Roman town in Britain developed into an important regional centre in post-Roman times. Aspects of Anglo-Saxon and Norman Colchester does not contain detailed excavation reports (these are to be found in Colchester Archaeological Reports 3, 6 and 9), but instead provides a framework against which various discoveries of the excavations of 1971-85 can be placed. It fills a gap in the research record and draws together various topics not previously studied relating to the town during this period. This is particularly relevant to the work in St John's Abbey Grounds and the Anglo-Saxon huts at Lion Walk, Balkerne Lane, and Culver Street.

Topics covered in the book include: a survey of the Anglo-Saxon finds and buildings from the town as known up to 1980; an etymological study of early personal names; a review of the post-Roman pottery to the 12th century; a review of Norman stone houses (of which there seem to have been more than might be expected); and a commentary on the structural development of Colchester Castle. Particular attention is paid to the relationships between the Roman topography and the later medieval town, and the way in which one seems to have developed out of the other. Evidence for town planning and street development in the post-Roman period is also considered.

Contributors are Nina Crummy (origins of personal names), Vera I Evison (Merovingian pot), P Galloway (bone combs), Margaret Guido (beads), Sonia Hawkes (Anglo-Saxon small finds), D Stephenson (early documentary evidence relating to St John's Abbey), D Wilson (Scandinavian-style mount), and G Zarnecki (Romanesque sculptures at the Moot Hall).

This is a reprint of the original version which was published in 1981. A few short footnotes have been added to the appropriate pages to indicate subsequent discoveries of special significance.

Publication of the report was made possible by a generous grant from English Heritage. The volume was published by the Council for British Archaeology.

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