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Monumentalising the political landscape: a special class of Anglo-Saxon assembly site

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2013

John Baker  and
Stuart Brookes
John Baker
Affiliation:
John Baker, Institute for Name-Studies, School of English, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK. Email: [email protected]
Stuart Brookes
Affiliation:
Stuart Brookes, FSA, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper outlines the place-name, archaeological and topographical evidence for a special class of Anglo-Saxon open-air assembly site, which we call a ‘hanging promontory’. Discussion of a series of these sites serves to describe the main characteristics of the class as well as their geographical distribution. Consideration is given to the possible functions and dating of the use of hanging promontories. In conclusion, comparisons are drawn with other forms of open-air assembly site to suggest a possible hierarchy of the administrative territories existing in the early medieval period in England.

Résumé

Cet article porte sur le nom de lieu, preuve archéologique et topographique d'une catégorie particulière de site de rassemblement anglo-saxon en plein air, que nous appelons un « promontoire suspendu ». La discussion concernant plusieurs de ces sites permet de décrire les caractéristiques principales de cette catégorie, ainsi que leur répartition géographique. Il est procédé à un réexamen des fonctions possibles et de la datation de ces promontoires suspendus. En conclusion, des comparaisons sont effectuées avec d'autres formes de site de rassemblement en plein air pour suggérer une hiérarchie éventuelle des territoires administratifs existants au début de la période médiévale en Angleterre.

Zusammenfassung

Diese Abhandlung behandelt die Ortsbezeichnung sowie die archäologischen und topografischen Nachweise für eine besondere Klasse der angelsächsischen Freiluft-Versammlungsstätten, die wir im Englischen als ,,hanging promontory“ (hängender Felsvorsprung) bezeichnen. In einer Reihe von Diskussionen dieser Stätten werden die hauptsächlichen Charakteristiken dieser Klasse sowie ihre geographische Verteilung beschrieben. Berücksichtigt werden dabei auch die möglichen Funktionen und die zeitliche Zuordnung der ,,hanging promontories“. Abschließend werden Vergleiche mit anderen Arten von Freiluft-Versammlungsstätten gezogen, um damit auf eine mögliche Hierarchie in den Verwaltungsgebieten hinzuweisen, die es im frühen Mittelalter in England möglicherweise gab.

Type
Papers
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 93 , September 2013 , pp. 147 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 2013 

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