The Dating of Hamwih: Saxon Southampton Reconsidered

Abstract

SummaryThis paper briefly reviews the historical and artefactual evidence for the dating of the Middle Saxon settlement of Hamwih, Saxon Southampton. This is followed by a seriation of twenty selected pit-groups, each with varying quantities of the five classes of Middle Saxon pottery. The analysis suggests three clusters of pits, some of which can be dated using coins or ceramics found in them. The span of dates, however, is substantially shorter than has previously been proposed, and some possible explanations for this are briefly discussed.