Internet Archaeology is pleased to announce the publication in issue 14:

'Excavations at Cricklade, Wiltshire, 1975' by Jeremy Haslam

	http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue14/haslam_index.html

The town of Cricklade in Wiltshire, England is one of the most regular
examples of the class of Saxon urban fortresses. Its defences are
relatively well preserved, and show particularly good evidence of
rectilinear planning. It has been the subject of detailed archaeological
and historical research over the past 55 years.

Prior to housing development, two excavations were carried out at
Cricklade in 1975: Site A, an area within the north-west quarter of the
town, which provided evidence of occupation throughout the Roman period;
and Site B, on the south-west corner of the late Saxon defences, in which
several trenches as well as larger areas across the line of the defences
were excavated.  The latter site provided a considerable amount of 
evidence relating to the structure and layout of the late Saxon defences
and established a sequence of several successive phases of construction,
refurbishment, destruction and rebuilding of the defences through three
centuries, from the late 9th century into the medieval period. 

The interpretation of this sequence of phases differs from that put
forward as a result of earlier excavations on the defences since 1948,
which are also reassessed in detail.  The sequence as a whole is then
compared with that established for other similar sites in Wessex, and set
in its regional and historical context. 

The article concludes that the fortress at Cricklade was one of the key
elements in a crash programme of fortress-building instigated by King
Alfred in 878-9 and that its siting owes more to its position in guarding
the crossing of the Thames by Ermin Street than to the existence of an
earlier settlement.

This electronic publication has been grant-aided by English Heritage and
has enabled Internet Archaeology to create for the author a series of
interactive plans and sections digitised from the original inked-up field
drawings - some of which were over 3 metres long.  The series of images
contain 'layers' that can be turned on or off, and can provide a zoom and
pan function. Readers can even add their own textual or other graphic
annotations to the files. 

        Internet Archaeology is available both to institutions and
        individuals for subscription. See
        http://intarch.ac.uk/subscriptions.html for further details.


Already available in IA-14:

    "The Application of GIS Viewshed Analysis to Roman Urban Studies: the
Case-Study of Empúries, Spain" by Alan Kaiser (University of Evansville) 

    http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue14/kaiser_index.html
    
Reviews of the 'Worcestershire On-line Fabric Type Series' website, 'The
Earl of Abergavenny', 'Discovering Craven', 'Richard Harland
Collection' and 'Craven Museum Lithics Collections' CD-Roms

    http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue14/index.html

regards,
Judith

---
Judith Winters
Editor, Internet Archaeology 
http://intarch.ac.uk