Exploring Linear Earthworks across Time and Space – Introducing the ‘Monumentality and Landscape: Linear Earthworks in Britain’ Project

Nicky Garland; Barney Harris; Tom Moore; Andrew Reynolds

doi:10.23914/odj.v3i0.316

Exploring Linear Earthworks across Time and Space – Introducing the ‘Monumentality and Landscape: Linear Earthworks in Britain’ Project

Nicky Garland, Barney Harris, Tom Moore, Andrew Reynolds

Abstract

Linear earthworks of a monumental character are an enigmatic part of the British landscape. Research in Britain suggests that such features range in date from the early 1st millennium BC to the Early Middle Ages. While the roles of these monuments in past societies cannot be understated, they remain a relatively under-researched phenomenon. This article introduces the Leverhulme Trust-funded ‘Monumentality and Landscape: Linear Earthworks in Britain’ project, which aims to provide a comparative study of linear earthworks focusing on those dating to the Iron Age and early medieval period. This contribution reviews our approach and shares preliminary results from the project’s first year, identifying wider implications for the study of linear earthworks.

Keywords

linear earthworks; method; Iron Age; early medieval; social complexity

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23914/odj.v3i0.316

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