Continuities in Urban Provisioning in Early Medieval Ipswich

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Stability and Resilience in Zooarchaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Intensive archaeological research was carried out in Ipswich between 1975 and 1990 in advance of urban redevelopment and new construction. The mammal and bird bones from 16 sites dating between 700 and 1150 were analyzed in order to identify patterns of urban provisioning and possible changes through time. The early medieval period was a period of substantial political and cultural changes during the early medieval period. Between 800 and 920 CE Ipswich came under Danish Viking control. While Ipswich was once again under Anglo-Saxon control after 920, it suffered after the Norman Conquest, and many of the urban plots lay in waste in the later eleventh century. Despite these changes, zooarchaeological research indicates long-term continuities in both overall species ratios and animal mortality profiles. These data suggest that the patterns or urban provisioning exhibited resilience in the face of substantial political and military changes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Stability and Resilience in Zooarchaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37705.0