Having described the compilation of the VASLE 'Sites dataset', this section will now utilise the dataset in an attempt to throw light on the archaeology of 'productive sites'. A number of finds assemblages from well-recorded excavated sites have been included as control datasets, alongside the metal-detected assemblages. These comprise urban sites such as Beverley, Canterbury, London and York (Coppergate and Fishergate), rural sites such as Cottam B and Wharram Percy, and known monastic sites, such as Hartlepool, Whithorn and Whitby Abbey. Although these are unlikely to have benefitted from total artefact recovery it can reasonably be assumed that the metal assemblages recovered and published are representative of what was in use, whereas non-ferrous and especially precious metals will be more highly represented in detected assemblages.
For each site four charts were produced, covering broad dating, artefact types, material, and a coin dating chart. These are described in more detail in Section 4.3.1. The assumption of the VASLE project is that the term 'productive site' masks a range of types of site, reflecting different categories of activity: settlement, agriculture, trade and exchange, manufacture, religious function, and so on. The 'fingerprint charts' might have the potential to characterise the nature of activity taking place at that site, making it possible to discern a settlement hierarchy. In practice, differences between 'fingerprints' might be due to a range of factors, including date of occupation, as well as recovery factors, such as whether the detector users had recovered the full range of items. It is important to try to account for these independent variables in the analysis that follows. The fingerprints for individual sites must also be seen in the context of regional trends in artefact use and loss.
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Last updated: Tues Apr 21 2009