Internet Archaeology (Nov 2013)
Burdale: An Anglian Settlement in the Yorkshire Wolds (Data Paper)
Abstract
The Burdale digital archive (Richards and Roskams 2013) comprises a broad range of primary and secondary data derived from fieldwork and post-excavation analysis. It complements the summary report published as Richards and Roskams (2012). Full stratigraphic reports are downloadable for each season of excavation and can be related to the sequence of CAD plans also available. These can, in turn, be set within the wider site map derived from aerial photography and geophysical survey. Final reports are available for the pottery, spindlewhorls, and worked bone and antler (Ashby 2013). Other finds are simply listed in the finds databases, split by excavation year, with some preliminary notes on the ironwork included in the investigative conservation reports. The non-ferrous finds assemblage was largely missing, apart from a small number of topsoil finds recovered during metal detector surveys. Given the alleged wealth of the site, and the interest in it from 'nighthawks' we have to assume that unfortunately, most of the coinage and copper alloy metalwork has been collected from the ploughsoil over many years and is in private hands or has been sold for profit. In common with other Yorkshire sites Burdale produced very little early medieval pottery but this is likely to be a real absence rather than a product of recovery bias. The animal bone assemblage (Richardson 2010) is one of the most important elements of the archive. Over 300 images are also presented, split by year of excavation. The file downloads are organised in 3 groups: those relating to the whole project and those specifically related to excavations in 2006 (BUR06) or 2007 (BUR07). Referee statement by Gabor Thomas
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