Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (283 page)

A type of geophysical instrument used for magnetic surveys in which a pair of
MAGNETOMETERS
are normally mounted one above the other on a single support staff. Various kinds are available, but the most commonly used in archaeology is the fluxgate gradiometer with the direction-responsive sensors between 0.5m and 2.0m apart. This measures the gradient in a magnetic field and will detect shallowly buried features and structures. The use of dual sensors overcomes many of the problems associated with single-sensor instruments, for example variations in the strength of the Earth's magnetic field and deep-seated geological anomalies. By systematically scanning an area on a grid system and logging the readings at close intervals it is possible to build up detailed plots showing the shape and form of the archaeological anomalies. These can be used to propose the nature and extent of buried features.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Writing scratched on tile, pottery, plaster, etc.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

A farm that is owned by a monastic house but run by lay brothers.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

A technique used in the manufacture of jewellery whereby grains of gold, electrum, or silver, are soldered onto metalwork.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Type of miniature cup or accessory vessel found in early Bronze Age (
WESSEX
II) graves in southern England. Generally less than 15cm across, grape cups are characterized by having a narrow base, narrow mouth, and an expanded rather bulbous body covered in small applied balls of clay so that they look like a small bunch of grapes. See
INCENSE CUP
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Pottery embodying chopped grass or straw in its fabric as a tempering agent. Grass-tempered wares are well represented amongst pagan Saxon communities of the immediate post-Roman period in southern and eastern England; indeed the presence of such pottery is the basis upon which sites of the period are recognized.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search