Annual lecture in memory of Mick Aston
Whether for the settlement of disputes, as a means to orchestrate collective action, or to carry out judicial, fiscal or political functions, assemblies were a critical institution in early medieval society. While their importance is undoubted, the archaeological evidence for assembly places is much more difficult to characterise – these were in many cases simply gatherings of people in open-air settings. Only in recent years have archaeologists together with place-name scholars begun to examine in a coherent manner the landscape signature for early medieval assembly places. In doing so they have begun to identify key characteristics of these ephemeral sites, both in terms of their physical settings, and in their wider relationships to early administrative territories, such as the hundred, wapentake or shire.
This lecture will highlight some of the problems of analysis and interpretation of assembly places, and summarise some of the main characteristics of these sites. It will be argued that, while government and law leave only subtle traces in the landscape, the archaeology of these topics can contribute greatly to our understanding of the early medieval past.
This lecture is in memory of Mick Aston. Mick was a tutor in local studies at the Department before moving to Bristol University. Earlier he had made a major contribution to the archaeology of Oxfordshire through his work on the Sites and Monuments Record, then based at the City and County Museum in Woodstock.
Please note: this event will close to enrolments at 23:59 UTC on 26 November 2024.