Interpretations of the distributions of portable antiquities data can only be adequately undertaken with reference to topography, geographical features such as rivers, and to the potential constraints on data collection, which may include urban areas, forests, and the limits of ploughzone farming. Assessment of these factors has been undertaken using the entire PAS database so as to eliminate any period-specific variations. Section 2.4.1 explores the data at the national scale, drawing out broad trends in the data, which are more fully examined by region in Section 2.4.2. Period-specific datasets, from Iron Age to Late Medieval in date, will then be compared to build a broad picture of the longue durée evolution of settlement, and will provide further assessment in identifying actual historic settlement patterns as opposed to modern recovery factors.
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URL: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue25/2/2.4.html
Last updated: Tues Apr 21 2009