It’s been a while since we’ve posted anything substantial. Fear not, despite the lack of posts lots of things have been happening behind the scenes.

We’re pleased to say that a piece of research on the project’s geophysical survey has just been submitted for publication in a major archaeology journal. This  has taken a lot of work by a number of people and we really hope that the journal will accept the article. Fingers crossed…

We also have a Newcastle Undergraduate team together for this season’s excavations at Barrow. Lucy will be returning and will be joined by Bill, Ollie, Kimberley, Jess, Chris, Hayley, Flora, Elliott and James. Andy will be returning as site supervisor and James G will be project directing.

Many logistical things happening and more details to follow…

Things have been relatively quiet up here in Newcastle. The site archive is currently sat in James’ office and he’s hoping to find some time to start writing the assessment report for last summer’s excavations.

We hope that our friends in SSARG and GeoFlo will soon be carrying out a small survey on the ploughed out deserted medieval settlement of Barrow.

James also recently found this interesting write up about some recent archaeological work at Montacute. Working in Lufton we’re always conscious of the ancient power centres around us – in the Iron Age Ham Hill and South Cadbury; in the Roman period Ilchester, and in the Middle Ages Ilchester, Yeovil and Montacute.

The twelfth-century Waltham Chronicle describes how a Dane called Tovi apparently dug a stone crucifix up on top of Montacute in 1030. This cross was given to Waltham Abbey where it survived until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the sixteenth century.

The Bayeux Tapestry showing William (centre) and his brothers Odo (left) and Robert (right)

Following the Norman Conquest Robert the Count of Mortain (William the Conqueror’s half brother) acquired Montacute and constructed a Motte-and-Bailey castle atop the ‘Steep HIll’ (Mons Acutus). The castle was besieged by the men on Somerset in 1068 but their attack was defeated by the Normans. In 1102 the lands were given to the Cluniacs who founded Montacute Priory.

What did the people of Lufton and Barrow think of these events?

An aerial photo from the 1940s showing the earthworks of the motte-and-bailey on Montacute. Today this site is largely hidden by tree cover.

We’ve only just returned from Somerset but James is already beginning to think about next Summer.

A few hundred meters south west of where we were digging this year lies a large arable field that until the 1970s contained the earthworks of a deserted medieval settlement that may have been called ‘Barrow’. Unfortunately the earthworks were bulldozed and nothing of this little settlement is now visible,

When the earthworks were destroyed local archaeologists collected a small quantity of medieval pottery. This include some 10-11 century AD sherds.  We hope to investigate this field with geophysics over the winter and perhaps carry out some excavation there next year.

Investigating ‘Barrow’ would tell us a lot about how well the archaeological remains of the settlement survive. It might also give us the opportunity to explore the earlier, pre-Norman, phases of activity. The origins of medieval settlements and their relationship with the preceding Roman landscape are important issues and Barrow may offer us an opportunity to address these questions.