Title:
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Aspects of the prehistoric archaeology of the Wear Valley, Co. Durham
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This thesis deals with aspects of the prehistoric archaeology
of the Wear Valley from the river's source in western Durham down to
Sunderland on the east coast. It is the product of field, documentary
and museum research designed to collect and bring together archaeological
data from a previously neglected area and attempts to provide a full
typological and morphological discussion of the material in a northern
British context. It also attempts to use the information In conjunction
with available environmental data to produce models for prehistoric
settlement and land and resource utilisation in the area from the Later
Mesolithic to the Iron Age period.
The thesis is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 is a
discussion of collected data in ten chapters. An initial discussion of
the forces at work in the production of the archaeological distributions
is presented (Ch. I) and the available environmental data are outlined
and the study area described in detail (Ch. II). An attempt is made to
set the present research into a historical context (Ch. III) and then the
collected data are discussed under the headings, Flint and Chert Material,
Polished Flint and Stone Axes and Shaft Hole Implements, Prehistoric
Pottery, Bronze Metalwork, Burial Sites and Later Prehistoric Settlement
Sites (Chs. IV - IX). Ch. X presents a detailed discussion of prehistoric
settlement and land and resource utilisation. Volume 2 is an Inventory
providing detailed descriptions of sites and finds arranged in six sections
to correspond with Chs. IV - IX in Volume 1 and Volume 3 is a corpus of
illustrative material.
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