Medieval Markets & Fairs
as seen through PAS data
Dr Michael Lewis & Dr Eljas
Oksanen
(British Museum)
THE PORTABLE
ANTIQUITIES SCHEME
a project to record archaeological objects
found by the public to advance archaeological
knowledge
39 FLOs
Liaising with the public
1,267,377
finds recorded
PAS Database
PAS Finds Recorded 1998-
2016
PAS finds by period (2016)
PAS finds by method of discovery (2016)
PAS finds by land use (2016)
PAS & Medieval Markets
The PAS dataset is vast, but largely
unexplored for the medieval
period.
Gazetteer of Markets
• 2,466 medieval markets
identified though
documentary sources.
• 78% of markets that
survive in c.1600 had
been established by 1300.
• PAS holds 160k records of
medieval date of which
almost 52k are coins.
• Almost 20% of all PAS
medieval finds are found
within 1km of a recorded
market locations (6% of
the total area of England).
Profiling medieval market sites
• Can we certainly
identify the location
of all market sites?
• Do artefacts found
in the plough-soil
helps us to identify
market activity?
• Besides coinage,
what artefacts types
best demonstrate
Balance from Teffont, Wiltshire,
commercial activity? c. 1100-1400 (WILT-B358AC)
Understanding the medieval
dataset Breakdown of PAS finds
by object type
More than 500 different object types, but
11 object types account for 76% of finds.
Objects near urban/commercial sites closest to market sites/urban area
Objects geo-spatially
PAS data v Market sites
Fenlands
Grouping PAS data
• Commerce
• Domestic Penny of Henry II
• from Shropshire,
Personal Care
c. 1220-29
• Dress (WREX-9F021C)
• Literacy
• Religion
• Transport
• Tools
• Warfare Strap-end from
the Isle of Wight,
c. 1350-1450
(IOW-931AE6)
Comparing sites
Kingston Deverill Litchfield Romney area Commerce
Domestic
Dress
Literacy
Personal
Care
Religion
Tools
Transport
Warfare
Unsure
London Road by Winchester
Stamford Bridge Wantage
National v Local
All PAS data
Winchester
Romney area Commerce
Domestic
Dress
Literacy
Personal
Care
Religion
Tools
Transport
Warfare
Unsure
Dress: Winchester road
All PAS data
Commerce
Domestic
Dress
Literacy
Personal
Care
Religion
Tools
Transport
Warfare
Unsure
Buckle. c. 1250-1500 (BERK-DED34C)
Winchester Dress (Winchester) badge
bracelet
brooch
buckle
button
clasp
cufflink
dress
fastner
finger ring
lace tag
pendant
pin
Literacy: Romney area
All PAS data
Commerce
Domestic
Dress
Literacy
Personal
Care
Religion
Tools
Transport
Warfare
Unsure
Seal Matrix of John, son of
Robert, 1200-75 (SUSS-FE38E3)
Romney area Literacy
book fitting
seal matrix
PAS and Markets
Using Digital Humanities techniques to
explore PAS and markets data and the
inherent biases any dataset may have
Temporal uncertainty in the
PAS data
emporal uncertainty in PAS data
Aoristic analysis
PAS data
800 BCE to 2000
CE: aoristic
analysis
All records
Less single
finds of
How does the
temporal
distribution
of
PAS data
reflect
other
datasets
PAS less coins
C. Lewis, Antiquity 90 (2016)
All Markets recorded by 1348 (2,400) Markets recorded by 1250 (962)
Kernel Density (r=16km)
Market vills and Single Finds of Coins Markets recorded by 1250 (962)
Kernel Density (r=16km)
Markets recorded by 1348 (2,400) Markets recorded by 1250 (962)
PAS ‘Medieval’ (1066-1540) FindspotsKernel Density: PAS ‘Medieval’ Findspots
PAS ‘Medieval’ (1066-1540) Findspots
London Mudlark (in native habitat)
PAS ‘Medieval’ (1066-1540) Findspots
Kernel density “heat map” (r=7.5 km)
Does the spatial distribution of
PAS data reflect
• Historical activity?
• Recovery bias?
All PAS finds c.1050-c.1350
Kernel density “heat map” (r=7.5 km)
All PAS finds c.1050-c.1350 Coins finds c.1050-c.1350
Kernel density of Relative risk surface of
coins finds c.1050-c.1350 coin finds c.1050-c.1350
Relative Risk Surfaces
Spindle whorls Seal matrices
Relative Risk Surfaces
Lay subsidy 1334 market vills Seal matrices
Lay subsidy 1334 Fairs >5 days in length
(excluding boroughs) recorded by 1348
Relative risk surface of
dress objects
Temporal distribution of coin finds
Periods (by “recoinage”)
c.973-1066 Anglo-Saxon
1066-1158 Norman
1158-1180 Tealby
1180-1247 Short Cross
1247-1279 Voided Long Cross
1279-”1350” Edwardian Long Cross
Coins loss: regional/national
Anglo-Saxon (c.973-1066)
vs
Voided Long Cross (1247-
emporal distribution of coin finds … and the emergence of new markets
Markets in 1100
(neighbours at <32km
Coins loss: regional/national Relative risk surface of
Anglo-Saxon (c.973-1066) vs new market foundations 1200-50
Voided Long Cross (1247-79) vs all markets by 1250
Saltfleetby and Skidbrooke
A case study using PAS data to
explore commerce and trade in
Medieval Lincolnshire.
On site at Skidbrooke
Cut Silver half-penny of King John
Future Plans
What next for medieval
markets?
Website
https://medievalmarketsites.wordpress.com
Pilot Study Funding
• Society of Antiquaries
of London (£10k)
• British Academy (£6k)
• British Museum
Research Board (£3k)
• Society for Medieval
Archaeology (£1k)
Harness pendant from Mavesyn Ridware,
Staffordshire, c. 1250-1350 (WMID-1D41BA)
AHRC Grant Application Pending
• Prof Andrew
Reynolds (PI)
• Dr Michael Lewis &
Dr Rebecca Oakes
(Co-Is)
• Murray Andrews, Dr
Stuart Brookes & Dr
Eljas Oksanen (PDRs)
Finger-ring from Tamworth,
Staffordshire, c. 1230-1360 (WMID-
8D3485).
THE END
