The West Midlands is a region of geographical, topographical and geological contrasts, forming disparate landscapes that are reflected in the nature and diversity of its rich archaeology. This ranges from evidence of its prehistory to the important industrial heritage of its major conurbations. This book represents an attempt by the region's archaeologists to draw these varying archaeological landscapes together to produce a research framework and agenda for their future management. This is based on a comprehensive evaluation of the archaeological resource and has allowed new research directions to be followed and gaps in our knowledge to be filled.
The book is arranged chronologically, each chapter addressing the important themes identified within each period. The colour images illustrate different aspects of the archaeology of the West Midlands and also include a series of distribution maps produced from data held in the region's Sites and Monuments Records and Historic Environment Records. The research agenda is an invaluable tool not only for those interested or involved in the archaeology of the West Midlands but also for those working in other regions, adding another important piece to the archaeological jigsaw of the British Isles and helping us to see the archaeology of the West Midlands more prominently in its wider context.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures
• Abbreviations
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1. Geology of the west midlands: a summary
• 2. The earlier prehistory of the west midlands
  • 2.1. Introduction
  • 2.2. Lower and Middle Palaeolithic
    • 2.2.1. Introduction
    • 2.2.2. Research assessment: current knowledge and understanding of the evidence
    • 2.2.3. Research agenda and specific research questions
    • 2.2.4. Research aims and methods
    • 2.2.5. Conclusion
  • 2.3. Upper Palaeolithic
    • 2.3.1. Introduction
    • 2.3.2. Research assessment: current knowledge and understanding of the evidence
    • 2.3.3. Research agenda and specific research questions
    • 2.3.4. Research aims and methods
    • 2.3.5. Conclusion
  • 2.4. Mesolithic
    • 2.4.1. Introduction
    • 2.4.2. Research assessment: current knowledge and understanding of the evidence
    • 2.4.3. Research agenda and specific research questions
    • 2.4.4. Research aims and methods
    • 2.4.5. Conclusion
  • 2.5. Early Neolithic
    • 2.5.1. Introduction
    • 2.5.2. Research assessment: current knowledge and understanding of the evidence
    • 2.5.3. Research agenda and specific research questions
    • 2.5.4. Research aims and methods
    • 2.5.5. Conclusion
  • 2.6. Middle and Late Neolithic
    • 2.6.1. Introduction
    • 2.6.2. Research assessment: current knowledge and understanding of the evidence
    • 2.6.3. Research agenda and specific research questions
    • 2.6.4. Research aims and methods
    • 2.6.5. Conclusion
  • 2.7. Early Bronze Age
    • 2.7.1. Introduction
    • 2.7.2. Research assessment: current knowledge and understanding of the evidence
    • 2.7.3. Research agenda and specific research questions
    • 2.7.4. Research aims and methods
    • 2.7.5. Conclusion
• 3. Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age: a research assessment overview and agenda
  • 3.1. Introduction
  • 3.2. Current knowledge
    • 3.2.1. Chronology
    • 3.2.2. Settlement, landscapes and people
    • 3.2.3. Material culture
    • 3.2.4. Regionality
    • 3.2.5. Processes of change
  • 3.3. Research agenda
    • 3.3.1. Chronology
    • 3.3.2. Settlement, landscapes and people
    • 3.3.3. Material culture
    • 3.3.4. Regionality
    • 3.3.5. Processes of change
    • 3.3.6. Key research agenda points
• 4. The Romano-British period: an assessment
  • 4.1. Introduction
  • 4.2. Resource mobilisation
    • 4.2.1. Minerals
    • 4.2.2. Agriculture
    • 4.2.3. Military involvement
  • 4.3. Assessing the evidence
    • 4.3.1. Identity and community
    • 4.3.2. Ritual and religion
  • 4.4. Assessing the gaps
  • 4.5. Tradition and innovation
  • 4.6. The Roman period and the longer term
• 5. The post-Roman and the early medieval periods in the west midlands
  • 5.1. Introduction
  • 5.2. Ethnicity, burial, territory and belief
    • 5.2.1. Ethnicity and burial evidence
    • 5.2.2. Territory
    • 5.2.3. Pre-Christian belief and the Christian Church
  • 5.3. Settlements and settlement hierarchy
    • 5.3.1. Urban development
    • 5.3.2. Rural marketing
    • 5.3.3. The rural landscape: settlement and land use
  • 5.4. Re-examination of existing data
  • 5.5. Suggested research priorities
• 6. The medieval period
  • 6.1. Introduction
  • 6.2. Town and country
    • 6.2.1. Rural settlement
    • 6.2.2. Urban settlement
  • 6.3. Hinterlands
  • 6.4. Life and death in the medieval west midlands
    • 6.4.1. Life in town and countryside
    • 6.4.2. Population studies
    • 6.4.3. Material culture
  • 6.5. Making a living
    • 6.5.1. The agricultural resource
    • 6.5.2. Industry in town and country
    • 6.5.3. Organisation, marketing and communications
  • 6.6. Honors and manors
    • 6.6.1. Castles
    • 6.6.2. Moated sites and manorial complexes
  • 6.7. The Church
    • 6.7.1. The monastic church in town and country
    • 6.7.2. The secular church in town and country
  • 6.8. Research priorities and approaches
• 7. ‘The archaeology of everything’ – grappling with post-medieval, industrial and contemporary archaeology
  • 7.1. Introduction
  • 7.2. Framing the past in the future
    • 7.2.1. What are we talking about?
    • 7.2.2. Constructing an archaeological framework
  • 7.3. Variations on a theme of transition
    • 7.3.1. Some broad issues
    • 7.3.2. Interconnecting themes
  • 7.4. Post-medieval archaeology in practice
    • 7.4.1. Sites in context
    • 7.4.2. Not all archaeology is below ground
    • 7.4.3. Not all archaeology is done in the field
    • 7.4.4. Not all archaeology is done by archaeologists
    • 7.4.5. Very little archaeology is done for archaeologists
  • 7.5. Conclusion
• 8. West Midlands Regional Research Framework priorities: Historic Landscape Characterisation
• 9. A common vision: priorities for Historic Environment Records (HERs) within the west midlands region
  • 9.1. Introduction
  • 9.2. National background
  • 9.3. A vision for НERs in the west midlands
  • 9.4. Priorities for HERs in the west midlands
  • 9.5. Conclusion
• 10. Curatorial practice
  • 10.1. Introduction
  • 10.2. General
  • 10.3. Dating
  • 10.4. The palaeoenvironment
  • 10.5. Artefact analysis
  • 10.6. Prospection strategies
  • 10.7. Evaluation strategies
  • 10.8. Excavation strategies
  • 10.9. Above-ground archaeology
  • 10.10. Public information and engagement
  • 10.11. A Regional Standards document
  • 10.12. Formal adoption of the Regional Research Framework and Agenda as policy