Cottam: An Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian settlement on the Yorkshire Wolds

Abstract

SUMMARYThe presence of Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian settlements at Cottam, East Yorkshire, was first indicated in 1987 by numerous finds of copper alloy coins, dress pins and strap ends by metal detector users. This report presents the results of fieldwork carried out on behalf of the Department of Archaeology, University of York, between 1993–95, including fieldwalking, geophysical survey, and excavation. This revealed an enclosure of the eighth to ninth centuries, containing traces of a small number of post-built halls. In the late ninth century this settlement was abandoned. A new enclosed settlement was laid out nearby, which was occupied briefly in the early tenth century. It is argued that the Anglian settlement may have been part of a royal multiple estate but that, as a result of estate reorganization after the Scandinavian setdement, it developed into an independent manor. Cottam is the first so-called ‘productive’ site in the environs of York to be the subject of archaeological investigations. The results suggest that it was a prosperous, but not exceptional site, and that the primary activity was farming, with limited evidence for trade or manufacture. This work prompts a reassessment of the typology of cropmark enclosures and the re-examination of the large number of undated enclosures in the area.