Archaeology
Archaeologists are rediscovering the medieval manor of Court De Wyck
Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology are conducting a project to rediscover the medieval manor of Court De Wyck.
The researchers are excavating on the outskirts of the village of Claverham in North Somerset, England. During the medieval period, a settlement recorded in the Domesday Survey of AD 1086 consisted of two hamlets: Claverham and Week.
The latter was primarily centred around the manor of Court De Wyck, named after the De Wyck family, which was founded in the 12th century by the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
According to several historical accounts, remnants of the manor persisted in some form until 1815, when it was ultimately demolished due to a fire leaving only a chapel and the tithe barn and stables.
19th century drawing plan by Mrs Betts
Little contemporary evidence survives regarding the layout of the manor, however, the researchers have been able to use a hand-drawn sketch plan by a Mrs Betts from the 19th century to aid in their excavations.
According to an announcement by Cotswold Archaeology: “The plan shows a range of buildings, including the chapel, positioned along the north, east, and west sides of a large courtyard, with an entrance to the south, and the chapel and other rooms to the north. From this plan, which turned out to be impressively accurate, we were able to use the location of the extant chapel to orient ourselves on the ground.”
During their excavations, the archaeologists uncovered a north/south orientated stone wall on the same alignment as the courtyard wall of the manorial complex (as shown on the 19th century drawing plan), and potentially representing the remains of one of the western walls of the manor or its chapel.
To the south, the researchers discovered the remnants of a significant east-west stone wall, which stood at nearly 2 meters in height. This wall seems to indicate a later development of what was originally thought to be a “moat.” In reality, this “moat” is more likely a substantial boundary ditch and could have served as a precursor to the boundary wall identified in the southern section of the excavation site.
In the northern part of the excavation area below the north/south wall are the foundations of an even earlier building, evidenced by ceramics that indicate a potential date from the 13th–14th century.
Excavations also found two perpendicular Roman ditches with Southeast Dorset and Southwest Black Burnished Ware ceramics, a fragment of boxed flue tile which was an essential part of the heating system of Roman buildings.
Header Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
Excavations led by the Israel Antiquities Authority, working in collaboration with Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science, have linked an event mentioned in the Bible to archaeological findings from the City of David.
The results of the excavation, published in the journal PNAS, challenges the accepted perceptions of the development of Jerusalem during the rule of the kings of Judah. In particular, the scope of Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon and the period that followed.
The researchers have accurately dated several structures, including the city walls and royal construction projects, which are linked to Jerusalem’s growth to the west during the period of King Hezekiah around 2,700-years-ago.
The previous assumption was that the city expanded due to the arrival of refugees due to the Assyrian exile, however, the new findings now indicate that the city spread towards Mount Zion in the 9th century BC during the reign of King Jehoash, 100 years before the Assyrian exile period.
Prof. Yuval Gadot from the Department of Archeology at Tel Aviv University, said: “In light of this, the new research teaches us that the expansion of Jerusalem is a result of internal-Judean demographic growth and the establishment of political and economic systems.”
Excavations have also revealed that the wall of Jerusalem on the eastern slopes of the city of David is older than previously thought. It was thought that the wall in this area was built by Hezekiah, King of Judah, however, findings now indicate that it dates from the reign of King Uzziah.
King Uzziah is described in a passage in the bible that reads: “’And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem… and strengthened them” (2 Chronicles 26:9).
According to Dr. Uziel: “Until now, many researchers have assumed that the wall was built by Hezekiah during his rebellion against Sennacherib (King of Assyria), in order to defend Jerusalem during the Assyrian siege. It is now apparent that the wall in the easter part of the City of David, was built earlier and as part of the construction of the city during the reign of King Uzziah.”
Header Image Credit : Leonardo Gurvitz, City of David Archives
Sources : IAA
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
A new study, published in the journal Antiquity, suggests that the ancient Pueblo culture used conch-shell trumpets for communication.
The focus of the study is the site of the Chaco Canyon in north-west New Mexico. Located in Chaco Culture National Historic Park, Chaco Canyon contains numerous small dwellings and multi-story buildings known as great houses.
Based on the density of structures, archaeologists speculate that the site was once a bustling metropolis, inhabited by as many as 2,300 people during its height from AD 1050 to 1130.
Conch-shell trumpets have been found in burial contexts at Chaco Canyon, which today are used in contemporary Pueblo ritual practices.
Using a Soundshed Analysis model, archaeologists have digitally modelled the sound of a conch-shell trumpet being sounded at a great house in relation to other features in the landscape. Soundshed Analysis calculates the distance a sound can travel from a point, taking into account both the type of sound and environmental conditions such as elevation and ambient noise.
“Chaco Canyon is surrounded by over one hundred understudied great house communities”, says lead author Professor Ruth Van Dyke from Binghamton University. “We sought to determine if extra-canyon great house communities demonstrated relationships similar to Chaco Canyon between landscape, community layout, and sound.”
In this case, the team modelled the sound of a conch from great houses at five Chacoan communities to determine whether it would reach all habitation sites within the community.
They found that if somebody blew a conch-shell trumpet from the great house at the centre of all five Chacoan communities, the sound would have reached almost all of the surrounding settlements.
This suggests that ancient Puebloans may have managed their land-use and community structures around the sound of trumpets. The sound was potentially used to signal communal activities, such as religious ceremonies.
“This is not unlike the idea of a medieval church bell calling a community to mass”, states Professor Van Dyke.
It also indicates how Chacoan heritage sites should be managed going forward.
“Soundscapes were meaningful dimensions of past experiences, landscapes, and environments and are important facets of social interaction in the ancient world,” observes Professor Van Dyke. “Management of archaeological and heritage sites should incorporate consideration of the auditory environment.”
Header Image Credit : Shutterstock
Sources : Antiquity | Seashells and sound waves: modelling soundscapes in Chacoan great-house communities – Ruth M. Van Dyke, Kristy E. Primeau, Kellam Throgmorton & David E. Witt. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.54
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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