The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca

• 204 • Julian D.Richards
Figure 11.6 Excavated buildings at Coppergate, York.
Source: York Archaeological Trust
trading community developed near the waterfront. At Lower Bridge Street, at least five cellared
timber buildings were erected in the tenth century (Mason 1985).
In Wessex, Alfred is credited with the establishment of a burghal system so that no part of his
kingdom was more than 32 km from a fortified burh. When Edward the Elder reconquered
England in 911–19, he extended the network and fortified a number of new sites. The Burghal
Hidage, a tax assessment of c.914–18, lists the Wessex burhs in the later years of Edward’s reign,
and indicates the extent of their perimeters. In Bath, Chichester, Exeter, Portchester (Hampshire),
Southampton and Winchester, the burhs made use of Roman stone walls and gates. At Cricklade
(Gloucestershire), Oxford, Wallingford (Oxfordshire) and Wareham (Dorset), new rectangular
defences were erected on Roman models. The ramparts were initially of clay and turfs with
timber revetment, and were probably crowned with timber palisades. In the late tenth or early
eleventh centuries, the timber palisade was often replaced by a stone wall. At other sites, such as
Lydford (Devon) or Malmesbury (Wiltshire), natural defences such as promontories or peninsular
sites were utilized; at South Cadbury, the Iron Age hillfort was reoccupied. Within some of the
larger burhs, a regular street system was laid out, and whilst the temporary forts were abandoned
after the decline of the Viking threat, many of the larger burhs became permanent towns. They
provided not only a haven for industry but also an urban market for its products, and for materials
and produce imported from the hinterland. Winchester, unlike the earlier Hamwic, was part of a
ranked hierarchy of markets. By the end of the tenth century, a number of specialized activities