A Biographical Approach to Urban Communities from a Geoarchaeological Perspective: High-Definition Applications and Case Studies

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of methodo logical and theoretical advances in the geoarchaeo logical study of towns in north-west Europe, c. ad 750-1450. The interpretations based on these new results are anchored within a theoretical framework of 'Bio graphies of Place' . This framework offers a strong fit with geoarchaeo logical methods, and through five themes related to urbanism this paper shows a perspective that bridges geoarchaeo logy and historical context, and allows researchers to challenge accepted narratives that have to a large degree been reliant on the same sets of material evidence. By illustrating the potential of these geoarchaeo logical methods and showcasing their specific contributions, this paper aims to show not only that, but also how, different geoarchaeological methods can most fruitfully be built into research designs of North European medi eval towns. This high-definition approach allows us to come a step closer to a more detailed picture of early medi eval and Viking Age urban communities.

The Archaeology of Emptiness? Understanding Open Urban Spaces in the Medieval World

“…The evolution in the interpretation of 'dark earths' in western-European towns is an example of this. Once regarded as simple deposits of organic waste or husbandry layers that separated the Roman from the medi eval towns, it is now apparent that they represent another kind of 'urban life', being common open spaces that were used quite intensively during their formation processes (MacPhail, Galinié, and Verhaeghe 2003;Nicosia and Devos 2014;Wouters 2020). Such an approach helps us to overcome the inherent problem with a typo logical approach to urban space; whilst Stanley and others (2012) create a complex typological scheme, which combines activities and scale, any typo logy serves to smooth out difference and, in doing so, prohibits us from developing a fuller understanding of the productive capacities of particular occurrences of urban emptiness.…”

“…The application of geochemical and soil micromorpho logy also creates opportunities to examine the changing character of empty spaces in the urban landscape, to understand how their disruptive potential was realized (for example, through evidence of wild-plant growth, suggesting a space of dereliction and abandonment) (see also Gandy 2016), or, indeed, to understand how these spaces might have been formalized, enfolded into regulated performances of urban life (see Wouters 2020). Changes in the urban landscape can be identified in Kraków, Poland, for example, where combined geochemical and micromorpho logical analysis show the changes to hydro logy and soil chemistry brought about by anthropogenic activities such as waste deposition (Mazurek and others 2016).…”

“…These examples, which focus specifically on open or empty spaces, can be situated within a more general trend towards the application of high-definition archaeo logical techniques to understanding urban spaces and processes (e.g. Devos and others 2013;Wouters and others 2016;Banjera and others 2017;Wouters 2018;. Applications have typically focused on the analysis of floor surfaces to understand the use of built space, but they also provide the evidential basis for understanding how these spaces were performed.…”