Plant and Invertebrate Remains from Anglo-Scandinavian Deposits at 16-22 Coppergate, York: Technical Report
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Reports from the Environmental Archaeology Unit, York 99/49, 124 pp. Plant and invertebrate remains from Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at 16-22 Coppergate, York: Technical Report Part 4: Period 5B Summary This Technical Report provides a sample-by-sample account of the plant macrofossil and invertebrate remains (apart from hand-collected shell) from deposits dated to the fourth major part of the Anglo- Scandinavian sequence (Period 5B: c. 975 - early/mid 11th century) at 16-22 Coppergate. Samples are arranged into groups according to the position of the context from which they were taken by feature type or location on the site. Keywords: YORK; ANGLO-SCANDINAVIAN (PERIOD 5B);16-22 COPPERGATE; PLANT MACROFOSSILS; PARASITE EGGS; INSECTS; FLY PUPARIA 21 August 2000 Contents Introduction to this series of data archives and Technical Reports ........................... 1 Methods ..................................................................... 1 Results of the analyses ........................................................... 2 Introduction to Period 5B ......................................................... 2 Tenement A ............................................................. 3 Structural elements of Structure 5/1 .................................... 3 Backfill deposits in Structure 5/1 ...................................... 4 Structural elements of Structure 5/2 .................................... 8 Floors in Structure 5/2 .............................................. 8 Floors in Structures 5/1 or 5/2 ........................................ 9 Backfill deposits in Structure 5/2 ...................................... 9 External layers on Tenement A ........................................ 9 Gully fills on Tenement A ........................................... 10 Pit fills on Tenement A ............................................. 17 Tenement B ............................................................ 17 Deposits associated with the construction of Structure 5/3 ................... 17 Floors in Structure 5/3 ............................................. 18 Gully fills in Structure 5/3, Tenement B ................................ 21 Backfill in Structure 5/3 ............................................ 23 Structure 5/4 ..................................................... 29 Floors in Structure 5/4 ............................................. 30 Backfills in Structure 5/4 ........................................... 32 External deposits of Tenement B ...................................... 37 Other deposits from Tenement B ...................................... 38 Pit fills on Tenement B ............................................. 38 Tenement C ............................................................ 39 Structural elements on Tenement C .................................... 40 Floors in Structure 5/5 ............................................. 41 Backfills in Structure 5/5 ........................................... 41 External deposits forming between phases of building ...................... 42 Structural elements of Structure 5/6 ................................... 52 Floors in Structure 5/6 ............................................. 52 Cut fills in Structure 5/6 ............................................ 58 Backfill deposits in Structure 5/6 ..................................... 61 Miscellaneous external deposits on Tenement C ........................... 64 Cut fills on Tenement C ............................................ 68 Cuts between Tenements C and D ..................................... 74 Deposits not properly located archaeologically ........................... 74 Tenement D ............................................................ 74 Structural elements in Tenement D .................................... 74 Deposits associated with Structure 5/7 ................................. 75 Deposits associated with two-roomed Structure 5/8 ........................ 79 External layers on Tenement D ....................................... 87 Pit fills on Tenement D ............................................. 94 Other deposits from Tenement D ..................................... 100 i ‘Rear area’ ........................................................... 100 Structural elements in rear area ...................................... 100 Layers in the rear area ............................................ 100 Deposits from rear of site with uncertain location or type ................... 102 Pit fills in rear area ............................................... 103 ii Reports from the EAU, York 99/49 Technical Report: Anglo-Scandinavian Coppergate, Period 5B Plant and invertebrate remains from Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at 16-22 Coppergate, York: Technical Report Part 4: Period 5B Introduction to this series of data archives Abbreviations used for type of sample (see Dobney and Technical Reports et al. 1992): The account of the non-vertebrate biological BS ‘bulk-sieved’ sample remains from Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at 16- C14 sample for radiocarbon dating 22 Coppergate presented by Kenward and Hall GBA ‘general biological analysis’ sample (1995) was necessarily extremely condensed and it Spot ‘spot’ sample was impossible to publish, even in microfiche, the very large volume of data (there were at the time of For GBA subsamples, ‘/T’ indicates a ‘test’ writing, for example, nearly 19,000 records of subsample (sensu Kenward et al. 1986; Kenward identifiable plant remains from samples from 397 1992) usually examined for both insect and plant contexts, and about 25,000 records of adult beetles remains; ‘/M’ represents a subsample specifically and bugs representing over 53,000 individuals). processed for recovery of plant remains alone These archives and Technical Reports, published (usually of 0.5kg, with ‘+’ used to indicate as Reports from the EAU, York, are intended as a subsamples larger than 0.5kg and ‘*’ indicating means of placing on record the data behind the those of smaller weight); ‘/1’, ‘/2’ etc. are narrative of Kenward and Hall (1995). subsamples for which insects have been studied, but plant remains usually have not. A set of In the data archives, information concerning timber additional subsamples—mostly from floors of identifications, records of other macrofossil plant Period 4B—examined during 1998 and intended in remains, of insects, and of other invertebrate part to plug some gaps in the coverage of context groups, is presented separately. The datasets for type and tenement, is designated by ‘/T3’; most of some of these groups are too extensive to produce these were of 2 or 3kg. under single covers and are thus presented as a series of separate parts. Unless stated otherwise, For BS samples, ‘V’ indicates that remains data have normally been sorted by context number extracted by ‘rough sorting’ from the residue have to facilitate cross-reference with lists of contexts, been recorded (i.e. they have only been examined samples and phasing information. during general sorting for all classes of remains and also for artefacts, by staff or volunteers with little In the Technical Reports, accounts are structured archaeobotanical expertise). ‘W’ and ‘R’ indicate by period, tenement and feature type, and include that material from the washover and from the brief outlines of the implications of the recorded residue, respectively, has been examined by means biota at the sample or subsample level. of a more thorough examination (by ARH). (N.B. An account of the stratigraphic sequence and, in particular, the nature of the structures Methods recorded, is in preparation at the time of compiling these archives and reports. The phasing used here Practical and interpretative methods are follows that provided by York Archaeological summarised in the publication text. For insect Trust during 1997 and may be subject to slight remains see also Kenward et al. (1986) and modification when the sequences are eventually Kenward (1992). published.) 1 Reports from the EAU, York 99/49 Technical Report: Anglo-Scandinavian Coppergate, Period 5B Results of the analyses sample description (made in the laboratory); (b) results of analyses of plant macrofossils; (c) results For each of the periods covered by the separate of analyses of the eggs of parasitic worms; (d) Technical Reports in this series, material is results of analyses of insects and other arthropods discussed under feature types in the following (this section deals primarily with adult beetles and order: bugs, but includes an outline of other groups). For cuts, fill contexts are dealt with as far as possible (i) contexts forming part of a structure, including in order from stratigraphically lowest to highest. post-pits, construction trenches, and so on, and alignments of posts and/or wattle; The primary purpose of these Technical Reports is to reveal the reasoning leading to the very (ii) floors and other deposits within condensed form of presentation used in the buildings—these include contexts identified by the publication text (Kenward and Hall 1995). The excavators as ‘made’ floors sensu stricto, and the text of the Technical Reports was written prior deposits that built up on them during use, other to 1994 (some in the mid 1980s) and has not use-phase deposits (including hearths and the fills been more than very superficially revised. It has of cuts of all kinds inside buildings), and dumps not been possible to take account of subsequent and other backfills of building cuts; re-phasing or re-interpretation, or of recent developments in interpretative