Contemporary archaeological research often works under the assumption that towns in the Early Middle Ages were static features in the landscape. However, recent studies show that early medieval...Show moreContemporary archaeological research often works under the assumption that towns in the Early Middle Ages were static features in the landscape. However, recent studies show that early medieval town development was much more diverse and spatially mobile than previously thought. In this thesis, I aimed to distinguish different types of town development, and endeavoured to find out what events and characteristics may contribute to a town’s spatial development. I did this by researching eight towns and looking at characteristics which I believed would shed light on the question why some towns appear to display more mobility than others during their development in the Early Middle Ages. This included looking at the presence of ecclesiastical structures, trade, and profane power, as well as natural features in the landscape. I found that out of the eight towns that I researched, five displayed signs of spatial mobility, two seemed to remain static in the landscape, and one displayed a third, previously unconsidered option; the presence of multiple, independently functioning settlement cores that were present within a Roman fortification structure in the same time period. This motivated me to name these three development types mobile towns, static towns and polyfocal towns respectively. Furthermore, I concluded that while it is possible to distinguish different types of town development in the Early Middle Ages when looking at it in a broad sense, it is not possible to distinguish between the different types when looking at one specific characteristic. All towns were alike in the sense that they were all located along major waterways and had a Roman predecessor. I also found that ecclesiastical presence does not always necessarily coincide with civil habitation. This counters the commonly accepted assumption that churches and other religious structures functioned as ‘anchors’ in the landscape, around which habitation was always present. For further research I suggest that the control group be expanded to include more early medieval towns. Furthermore, I believe it would be beneficial to include a larger variety of towns, for example, towns that are not located along major waterways and towns that did not have a Roman predecessor. I am confident that if the scale of the research is widened, it is possible to come to a clearer conclusion concerning the spatial movement of early medieval towns.Show less
