An assessment of the cesspit deposits of Northern England: An archaeobotanical perspective AN ARCHAEOBOTANCIAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The thesis presents an analysis of the published and unpublished archaeobotanical remains from cesspit deposits in Northern England with taphonomic considerations as to their formation. This encapsulates a review of the literature of digestive taphonomy in archaeological studies, a discussion on the logic of choosing the particular study area, a database and statistical analysis of the cesspit samples within the study area, a series of taphonomic experiments on certain plant remains, a historical review of plant remains from a sample of medieval recipes, and the concluding remarks and discussion. The study concludes that the dataset available for Britain and Ireland during the medieval period should become the focus of a wider study on dietary and environmental change in the medieval period for North-West Europe.