| Abstract: | In the study of relict landscapes the definition of layers or phases may be logically necessary but can be fundamentally misleading. The real world normally involves a continuum of activity, in which continuity is more important than cataclysmic change. Detailed field maps of landscape survivals in a Westmorland township are used to formulate a possible temporal framework of development, which casts doubt upon existing chronological assumptions and illuminates the processes of village development. The discussion shows how complex multi-period landscapes, including both relict features and functioning elements, can be recorded, interpreted and presented with a measure of reinterpretable objectivity. |
