Landscape and Society in Dumnonia: Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval Ipplepen and the Countryside of South-West England
Explores South-West England’s development from the Iron Age through medieval times, focusing on Ipplepen.

This book explores the distinctive landscape and society of South-West England that had emerged by the Iron Age and which continued to develop during the Roman and medieval periods. A focus of the research was the long-term programme of survey and excavation on the Iron Age, Roman, and early medieval settlement at Dainton Elms Cross, in Ipplepen (Devon), which included the only Roman roadside settlement to have seen extensive excavation to the south and west of Exeter on the very edge of the Roman empire, as well as a substantial early medieval cemetery. First discovered through the reporting of an unusual concentration of Roman finds to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the site was investigated through a joint university and community project led by the University of Exeter in partnership with the British Museum/PAS, Devon County Council, and Cotswold Archaeology. What for the South-West of England was exceptional preservation meant that large amounts of animal bone, charred cereals, and human remains were preserved, alongside a regionally important material culture assemblage. The site – which had been occupied for c. 1200 years – was abandoned around the 8th century AD. A programme of documentary, place-name, and historic landscape research across a study area extending from the coast up onto Dartmoor explores the context of this major landscape change, which appears to have been associated with the appearance of hamlets and open fields, and the fragmentation of an ‘early folk territory’. Together, the excavations in Ipplepen and the wider contextual research reveal how communities living in South-West England developed a distinctive identity that reflects a well-developed understanding of their region’s natural environment alongside a degree of ambivalence to outside cultural influences.
1146669568
Landscape and Society in Dumnonia: Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval Ipplepen and the Countryside of South-West England
Explores South-West England’s development from the Iron Age through medieval times, focusing on Ipplepen.

This book explores the distinctive landscape and society of South-West England that had emerged by the Iron Age and which continued to develop during the Roman and medieval periods. A focus of the research was the long-term programme of survey and excavation on the Iron Age, Roman, and early medieval settlement at Dainton Elms Cross, in Ipplepen (Devon), which included the only Roman roadside settlement to have seen extensive excavation to the south and west of Exeter on the very edge of the Roman empire, as well as a substantial early medieval cemetery. First discovered through the reporting of an unusual concentration of Roman finds to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the site was investigated through a joint university and community project led by the University of Exeter in partnership with the British Museum/PAS, Devon County Council, and Cotswold Archaeology. What for the South-West of England was exceptional preservation meant that large amounts of animal bone, charred cereals, and human remains were preserved, alongside a regionally important material culture assemblage. The site – which had been occupied for c. 1200 years – was abandoned around the 8th century AD. A programme of documentary, place-name, and historic landscape research across a study area extending from the coast up onto Dartmoor explores the context of this major landscape change, which appears to have been associated with the appearance of hamlets and open fields, and the fragmentation of an ‘early folk territory’. Together, the excavations in Ipplepen and the wider contextual research reveal how communities living in South-West England developed a distinctive identity that reflects a well-developed understanding of their region’s natural environment alongside a degree of ambivalence to outside cultural influences.
48.0 In Stock
Landscape and Society in Dumnonia: Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval Ipplepen and the Countryside of South-West England

Landscape and Society in Dumnonia: Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval Ipplepen and the Countryside of South-West England

by Stephen Rippon
Landscape and Society in Dumnonia: Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval Ipplepen and the Countryside of South-West England

Landscape and Society in Dumnonia: Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval Ipplepen and the Countryside of South-West England

by Stephen Rippon

eBook

$48.00 

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

Explores South-West England’s development from the Iron Age through medieval times, focusing on Ipplepen.

This book explores the distinctive landscape and society of South-West England that had emerged by the Iron Age and which continued to develop during the Roman and medieval periods. A focus of the research was the long-term programme of survey and excavation on the Iron Age, Roman, and early medieval settlement at Dainton Elms Cross, in Ipplepen (Devon), which included the only Roman roadside settlement to have seen extensive excavation to the south and west of Exeter on the very edge of the Roman empire, as well as a substantial early medieval cemetery. First discovered through the reporting of an unusual concentration of Roman finds to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the site was investigated through a joint university and community project led by the University of Exeter in partnership with the British Museum/PAS, Devon County Council, and Cotswold Archaeology. What for the South-West of England was exceptional preservation meant that large amounts of animal bone, charred cereals, and human remains were preserved, alongside a regionally important material culture assemblage. The site – which had been occupied for c. 1200 years – was abandoned around the 8th century AD. A programme of documentary, place-name, and historic landscape research across a study area extending from the coast up onto Dartmoor explores the context of this major landscape change, which appears to have been associated with the appearance of hamlets and open fields, and the fragmentation of an ‘early folk territory’. Together, the excavations in Ipplepen and the wider contextual research reveal how communities living in South-West England developed a distinctive identity that reflects a well-developed understanding of their region’s natural environment alongside a degree of ambivalence to outside cultural influences.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781789259780
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Publication date: 08/15/2025
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 432
File size: 123 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Stephen Rippon is Professor of Landscape Archaeology at the University of Exeter. His current research interests cover the landscapes of Roman and medieval Britain, with a particular focus on the origins and development of regional variation in landscape character.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Online Material
List of Abbreviations
Preface
Forewords
Andrew Brown and Michael Lewis, Alistair Dewhirst, Bill Horner, and Neil Holbrook
Acknowledgements
Summary

1. Introduction: Regional Identities and Landscape Character
Stephen Rippon
2. Introduction to the Site and its Locality
Stephen Rippon
3. Earlier Prehistoric Settlement (Phases 1–2)
Stephen Rippon
4. Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement and Cemeteries (Phases 3 and 4)
Stephen Rippon
5. Iron Age and Romano-British Artefacts and Environmental Evidence
Stephen Rippon
6. Discussion: An Iron Age and Romano-British Community in Their Wider Landscape Context
Stephen Rippon
7. The Early Medieval Settlement and Cemetery (Phase 5) and the Later Medieval/Post-Medieval Field System (Phase 6)
Stephen Rippon
8. Introduction to the Greater Teignbridge Area
Stephen Rippon
9. Early Medieval Territorial Arrangements in the Greater Teignbridge Area
Stephen Rippon and Kim Taylor-Moore
10. Early Folk Territories
Stephen Rippon
11. Settlement Patterns and Field Systems
Stephen Rippon, Maddy Knibb, Phil Knibb, and Rod Lane
12. Commons, Woodland, and Moorland Droveways
Stephen Rippon, with contributions by Maddy Knibb, Phil Knibb, Rod Lane, and Richard Sandover
13. Conclusions: The Origins and Development of Regional Variation in Landscape Character
Stephen Rippon
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews