The topic of movement in archaeology has been extensively studied. Research on human movement during prehistory has become in archaeology and anthropology one of the bases for understanding the dynamics of social and economic relationships, technology, social identity and territoriality, among many other important themes. Although archaeological investigations related to movement have increased in the last decade, the majority have usually relied on “static” evidence, that is, on the analysis of the materials or objects that are found in specific sites, establishing the relationship between them and their points of origin or destination (Branting 2004). In recent years, using spatial technologies, more research has aimed to investigate movement from a landscape perspective, in which more attention has been paid to the processes that may have happened on journeys. Some of these studies have directly or indirectly analysed the possible factors influencing the decisions about which paths to take, the mechanics of movement and the archaeological evidence related to it (Llobera 2000; Fairén Jiménez 2004; Cruz Berrocal 2004; Fábrega Alvarez 2006; Fábrega Alvarez / Parcero Oubiña 2007; Llobera / Slukin 2007; Fiz / Orengo 2008; Murrieta-Flores 2010, 2012a; Mlekuzˇ 2010; in the current volume, Lock et al. and Mlekuzˇ among others). In the specific case of Iberia, megalithic monuments are among the archaeological elements at a landscape scale that have been linked to potential patterns of movement, and it has been argued that, besides their symbolic and funerary meanings, they may also have been utilized as landscape markers.

This paper argues in favour of the identifying the early medieval monastery of Straenaeshalch with Whitby, North Yorkshire, and proceeds to argue for a network of neighbouring satellite churches and lands on the north eastern coastal plain of Yorkshire, before considering the relationship between monasteries and the early medieval landscape.

Since its publication in 1954 Star Carr has held an iconic status in British Mesolithic archaeology. The original excavations at the site recorded a large assemblage of bone and antler tools from a sequence of peat deposits at the edge of the Lake Flixton. Over 60 years later this remains the largest assemblage of bone and antler artefacts of its date in Britain and has been an invaluable source of information for life in the early Mesolithic. However, the interpretation of this material has been the subject of intense debate, and the assemblage has been variously described as the remains of an in situ settlement, a refuse dump, and the result of culturally prescribed acts of deposition. Fundamentally, these very different ideas of the nature of the site depend on differing interpretations of the environmental context into which the majority of the organic artefacts were deposited. This paper presents the results of recent work at Star Carr that helps to resolve the debate surrounding both the context of the assemblage and the motivations that lay behind its deposition.

Chapter 2, a summary of the fieldwork carried out 2006-2015

This paper provides an overview and analysis of the current state of historical, archaeological and onomastic evidence for, and scholarship on, the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.

Introduction to the edited collection 'Cremation and the Archaeology of Death'

This chapter will introduce the basics of geographical information systems (GIS) for humanities scholarship. It will provide a brief overview of how using GIS software can help researchers understand the geographies within their sources. It will briefly introduce how GIS models features and places on the Earth’s surface so that the reader is gets a basic understanding of the core terminology associated with GIS. It will then talk through the basics of how a researcher gets their sources into GIS software; how they can query, integrate and analyse data within GIS; and how they can disseminate their results using maps and electronic outputs such as KML files that can be disseminated using Google Earth. The conclusion will look briefly at what a researcher can and cannot expect to gain from using GIS and stress that mapping is only a part of the research process – good at identifying and describing patterns but limited in its ability to explain them. The chapter will be include several diagrams and will be extensively referenced.

Conclusions arising from the Star Carr project

Radiocarbon dating the Star Carr archaeological and palaeoenvironmental record

In 2015 an engraved shale pendant was found during excavations at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr, UK. Engraved motifs on Mesolithic pendants are extremely rare, with the exception of amber pendants from southern Scandinavia. The artwork on the pendant is the earliest known Mesolithic art in Britain; the 'barbed line' motif is comparable to styles on the Continent, particularly in Denmark. When it was first uncovered the lines were barely visible but using a range of digital imaging techniques it has been possible to examine them in detail and determine the style of engraving as well as the order in which the lines might have been made. In addition, microwear and residue analyses were applied to examine whether the pendant showed signs that it had been strung or worn, and whether the lines had been made more visible through the application of pigments, as has been suggested for some Danish amber pendants. This approach of using multiple scientific and analytical techniques has not been used previously and provides a methodology for the examination of similar artefacts in the future.