Hiatus and Translocation: alternative models for early medieval urban development in Late Saxon London and beyond

The second seminar in the 2018-19 UCL Institute of Archaeology/British Museum Medieval Seminar Series will be given by Victoria Ziegler (UCL) on 20 November.

Abstract

In the second half of the ninth century occupation shifted between Lundenwic and Lundenburh, an event heralded by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for 886 as King Alfred's 'reoccupation' of London. Recent archaeological research suggests that the causes, processes and effects of the move between wic and burh were more complex and nuanced than the traditional historical narrative suggests. This paper reviews the archaeological evidence for the shift between the two settlements, highlighting the possibility of cultural and/or temporal hiatuses in occupation and considering whether London's regeneration was necessarily dependent on the actions of the elite. Other contemporary examples of non-linear urban development are reassessed; were urban
hiatus and translocation independent local occurrences or more widespread phenomena relating to the complex processes of urbanisation taking place during the early medieval period?

The Medieval Seminar Series is sponsored by the World Archaeology Section at the UCL Institute of Archaeology and the British Museum.

All meetings start at 6.15pm at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. Attendees are invited to bring news items for announcement before the start of each seminar.

• The programme for the 2018-19 Institute of Archaeology/British Museum Medieval Seminar Series is available to download here»

Seminar Series Convenors:

• Sue Brunning (British Museum)
• Andrew Reynolds (Institute of Archaeology)