Paper short abstract:

This interdisciplinary paper offers a working model in which archaeological, literary, and historical evidence are used in conjunction to illustrate contemporary conceptions of urbanism and urban landscapes in early-medieval England.

Paper long abstract:

Utilising literary and historical sources to illuminate conceptions of urban space primarily grounded in the archaeological record is a difficult business, with its own set of particular problems and possibilities. Archaeology may tell us what people did, and why they did it, but not necessarily why they thought they did it, nor a great deal about the cultural dialogues which accompanied processes of change or continuity. In the case of urban studies, an interdisciplinary approach to conceptions of urban landscape is often particularly well suited to shedding light upon contemporary conceptions of the delineation of urban space. This is arguably because urban settlements present themselves as geographical and ideological centres for the exchange of ideas, and their discussion and preservation - in whatever form, and under whatever impetus. This process is often one upon which the town or city often leaves its mark. Archaeology reveals the city most purely as a physical artefact, literature as a conceptual construct - and in conjunction the two can reveal much about the historical narrative that lies between them. This paper will discuss the approach I am adopting in my postdoctoral project, 'Building Cities in the Anglo-Saxon Mind', and give reasons why similar frameworks may be useful to other researchers working in urban studies, whether or not they are engaging with largely pre-literate cultures. It invites constructive criticism of the model proposed, and suggestions for ways in which it may be altered to better represent the perspectives of the allied fields concerned.