Book Autumn Talk: Dr Duncan Wright – Bosham, Bayeux, and Beyond: The Archaeology of England’s Earliest Medieval Lordly Centres

Join us for an Autumn Talk with Dr Duncan Wright

Bosham, Bayeux, and Beyond: The Archaeology of England’s Earliest Medieval Lordly Centres

In late 2006, a cesspit filled with Late Saxon and early Norman pottery was excavated in a garden in Bosham, West Sussex. Surprisingly, this latrine – found adjacent to the remains of a timber building – is compelling evidence for the presence of a high-status hall, which would have been located in a more extensive elite complex or ‘lordly centre’. The site at Bosham is almost certainly that famously depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry, as a church twinned with a hall in which Harold and his retinue attend a feast. The identification of Harold’s lordly complex was made by Where Power Lies, a project that delivered the first national assessment of the archaeological evidence for these sites across England. This lecture will provide a detailed account of the findings from Bosham, along with other key results from a project that has reshaped our understanding of lordly centres and their impact upon the landscape of medieval England.

More about the speaker

Duncan is Senior Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at Newcastle University, and was Principal Investigator of Where Power Lies. He specialises in studies of medieval settlement and landscape, with a particular interest in the articulation of elite authority. An active field archaeologist with an extensive background in landscape-scale survey and excavation, he has published widely on both sides of the ‘early-late’ medieval divide. Duncan is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, and Editor of Medieval Archaeology.

More about the event

Date: Tuesday 25th November
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Tickets: Free for Members of The Sussex Archaeological Society or £5 for non-members.

Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. View our ticket terms and conditions here.