AR3M14: Living in Medieval Towns

Module code: AR3M14

Module provider: Archaeology; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Brandon Fathy, email: b.h.fathy@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module provides students a comprehensive exploration of medieval towns and urban life. It seeks to follow the evolution of town and cityscapes from post-Roman times through to the emergence of medieval towns, and from the socioeconomic complexities of urban centres to the effects of the Black Death. Students will delve into the complexities of modern urban archaeology as a rich and dynamic practice. The module is organised thematically, including urban emergence, layout and topography, transformations or urban society, wealth and poverty, and trade, markets, and crafts. The course will draw on diverse examples across Europe, and highlighting the increasing role of archaeology in both urban and medieval studies.

The aims of the module are to:

• survey the origins, transformations, and abandonment of medieval towns.
• demonstrate the range of sources used by medieval archaeologists: features, artefacts, maps, written records, and environmental data.
• provide coverage of key aspects of urban life: social stratification, trade, markets, crafts, religious practices, sanitation, public health, and defence.
• investigate urban archaeology methods and techniques, including the character of developer-lead archaeology in the UK today.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Identify, discuss and explain the main issues and histories of medieval urbanism
2. Assess the character and quality of archaeological data associated with medieval urbanism, including contemporary urban archaeology methods and techniques
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the suite of resources available to archaeologists to study medieval life
4. Demonstrate teamwork and individual analytical skills

Module content

The module explores both the history of urbanism in the Middle Ages, and the many avenues by which archaeologists study medieval towns and urban life. Starting from the counter-urbanisation that coincided with the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the module investigates the factors that led to the development of medieval towns and the transition from rural to urban living across various historical contexts: survival from the Roman period, northern emporia in 7th and 8th centuries, Viking settlements, castle towns from the 11th century onwards, and cathedral cities. Drawing on specific case studies, This module explores how the layout and topography of towns transformed physically (street patterns, fortifications, houses, and civic structures) and socially (guilds, merchants, artisans, labour) across towns and eras. One week of lessons will dedicated to each of the following themes

• Poverty and consumption
• Trade, markets, and crafts
• Religion: churches, monasteries, and religious practice
• Urban ecology: pests, pets, and parasites
• Urban challenges: sanitation health, and defence
• Urban Archaeology methods and techniques today

One week will be dedicated to the understanding the character of urban archaeology today, particularly the impact of developer-led archaeology on UK cities, and urban archaeology’s relationship to the public.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will include lectures and seminars. The module will also incorporate an instructive fieldtrip to Oxford and London to allow students to experience these places directly

Summative assessments will include one 2500-word essay to foster independent research skills, but also a teamwork assignment. The latter will divide the student body into groups of five students. Each will group will choose one of six possible case studies (Carcassonne, Chester, Dublin, Prague, Southampton, or York). Within each group, each student will write a 2000-word report on one key aspect of that town and its archaeology. Those themes wills be:

• The development of parishes and their churches before and after the Reformation
• The siting, form and role of religious houses (abbeys, friaries)
• Domestic housing and standards of living, above and below ground
• The development and decline of defences
• Trade and industry – spaces and products.

The students in each group will share resources, and then the final summative assignment will require each group to do an team presentation on their shared town.

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

As a formative assessment in the first week, each student will choose a town or city that was mapped in John Speed’s 1610 Atlas and then write a commentary on its plan (monuments, features) and on which features might survive or be lost from the Middle Ages.

Reassessment

Additional costs