Even experts have to work hard to piece together the remaining fragmentary evidence to obtain a coherent picture. It is therefore difficult for contemporary communities in large British towns to understand the former medieval character and topography of the towns in which they live and work. The results of preservation ‘by record’ are often unavailable to the public in a readable form. Preservation in situ is by its nature difficult to manage in an urban environment and there are issues of public access where archaeological fragments are preserved beneath private modern buildings. In addition, the results of below-ground medieval archaeological investigations are often inaccessible. While the City of London retains a medieval street pattern and medieval street names, nearly all of its domestic medieval buildings were lost over 300 years ago. The most important provincial late medieval towns such as Bristol, Norwich and Coventry have only small pockets of pre c. Footnote 2 Few of the medieval domestic ‘vernacular’ and mainly timber-framed buildings that surrounded these buildings survive, and in many cases medieval street patterns have been altered beyond recognition. Some are left as ruins as memorials or gardens, and other fragments exist in neglected corners, often without effective interpretation or context. In many cases, only isolated medieval municipal, religious or other ‘monumental’ buildings such as churches, walls and guildhalls remain amidst buildings and streets of a more recent era. Buildings can reveal details of the lives of their occupants and therefore enrich our knowledge of life in medieval Europe.Most of Britain's larger towns Footnote 1 have lost their former medieval character. This volume aims to open discussions about medieval buildings beyond simply architectural features and typologies, and furthers the discipline through this process. Materials and craftspeople are considered through a study of brick makers and their identifying marks. Buildings of high status and low status are discussed, as well as those of a secular and ecclesiastic nature. There is comprehensive range in size and status of buildings, from the smallest, single-roomed house in Byzantine Serbia and rural homes in central Europe to churches in Sweden and monastic hospitals in England. The papers range from Croatia and Transylvania in the east, Scandinavia in the north and Britain in the west, providing insights into areas that are rarely discussed by books published in western Europe. They provide interesting insights to life in the medieval world in several understudied areas of Europe. This volume brings together an interesting range of papers discussing medieval buildings across Europe. Anglo-Saxon, Viking & Early Medieval Europe (up to AD1000).Colonial & Modern, Arts, Archaeology, & History.Far East Archaeology & History (China, Japan, Korea).South Asian Archaeology & History (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka).
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