This thesis examines the ways in which mo~ t~<fi~~es ~~~ archaeology. together with expertise from disciplines such as ballistics. can be integrated with the methods of military history to advance the understanding of historic battles. Warfare in seventeenth-century England provides the chronological and spatial scope of the study. First the history of past investigation of battlefields is reviewed. In the light of this assessment a new overarching methodology for the investigation of historic battlefields is defined. Techniques of reconstructing the historic terrain are described. ' . together with the ways in which the evidence from the primary sources for the battles can be used to place the military events more accurately within its contemporary landscape. The hypotheses develop,ed by such work are 'then the subject of validation and enhancement through analysis of the 'physical evidence left by the battles themselves. The methods of surveying and analysing the battle archaeology are defined. with particular attention being given to the lead bullet. which is the' primary component of the archaeology of seventeenth-eentury battles. Met.ho~s of analysis are desCl'!bed and a classification of bUII~t attributes is presented. supported by the results of new experimental weapon firing. The whole t~partite methodology is then tested through a major new field investigation and documentary stUdy of the' terrain. battle archaeology and military hist~fY of the 1642 battle of E~gehill. a major action of the English Civil War. This allows the effectiveness of the methodology in tackling the problems posed by a major battle to be assessed. Finally there is a consideration of the wider potentials of the methodology for the study of battles and other fields of conflict in' earlier and later centuries in England and more generally in Europe.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:502105 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Foard, Glenn |
| Publisher | University of East Anglia |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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