Hydrogeological Modelling of Water-Level Changes in an Area of Archaeological Significance: A Case Study from Flag Fen,Cambridgeshire, UK

Concern exists regarding the long-term viability of the internationally important archaeological remains of the Flag Fen site near Peterborough. This paper describes a hydrogeological numerical groundwater model which has been used to understand the groundwater situation with regard to the archaeology, including drainage impacts, and also to explore future scenarios. Observed and modelled groundwater levels have been interpreted using three zones: the ‘dry’ zone 1 above the seasonal maximum water table; zone 2 of seasonal water table fluctuation; and a deeper zone 3 of permanent saturation. Archaeological wood is best preserved in Zone 3. Much of the Bronze Age wooden structure is located within Zone 2 or above. The hydrological conditions are therefore not ideal for the long-term in situ preservation of the material. Groundwater modelling indicates that the main factor controlling groundwater levels in the area is artificial drainage. The approach would be applicable to other wet-preserved archaeological sites.     

A Methodology for Assessing the Heritage of Planned Urban Environments: An Australian Study of National Heritage Values

Although urban planning has made strategic and notable contributions to the production of the built environment, these are under‐represented in heritage discourse. Planned environments deserve more attention as a particular class of place because a better understanding of planning and planning excellence can inform best heritage practice. A stepwise methodology for the heritage assessment of planned environments is presented. It is drawn from an Australian study concerned with the identification of places of possible national heritage significance. The approach is constructed around the identification of historical themes (for the categorisation and benchmarking of places based on historical research), indicators (pertaining to the nature of significance in planning terms) and thresholds (pertaining to the degree of significance). The analytical approach is capable of adaptation to diverse settings in which the heritage contribution of planning may be recognised.     

The construction of heritage: The domestic context and its implications

Abstract

A fundamental question in heritage studies is how heritage is constructed, how selection processes operate to transform some places, objects and practices into heritage and not some others. A significant site for heritage construction is the family and its relation to its material culture. The present Survey analyses how individuals within families relate to favoured objects and shows that the creation of material identity is crucial to a family's sense of wellbeing. However a gender difference emerges; for men the passage of time produces significant objects which are valued accordingly, but for women, objects are the passage of time. This has a significant impact on what eventually emerges as family heritage, and consequently upon how public heritage is created.     

Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1983

Abstract

LATER MEDIEVAL ENGLAND possessed over 300 documented leper hospitals, representing around a quarter of all hospital foundations, but to date a sustained discussion of this archaeological material is lacking. This paper synthesises and explores the present state of archaeological knowledge within the broader context of recent studies in other disciplines. It identifies some current issues and avenues for potential research, with particular reference to the recent archaeological work at St Mary Magdalen, Winchester, one of the most extensive excavations of a medieval leper hospital and almshouse to date.     

Removing science from magic,science and religion

Tambiah, Stanley J. Culture, Thought, and Social Action: An Anthropological Perspective. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1985. ix + 411 pp. including references, notes, sources, and index. $30.00 cloth.     

Women and Family Property: A Review of U.S. Inheritance Studies

Historians can use the concept of causation in a variety of ways, each of which is associated with different historiographical claims and different kinds of argumentation. The author shows that, contrary to the usual view, historical narratives are causal (in a specific way), and microhistory can be seen as a response to a very specific causal problem of Braudelian macrohistory.