Whitby Abbey Cliff, Whitby, North Yorkshire: Archaeomagnetic Dating Report 2002
Author(s): Paul Linford
During excavations on the cliff top at Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire in 2001-2, a number of fired clay features were discovered. These features were thought to relate to the settlement associated with the original abbey in the Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Scandinavian periods. Two were sampled for archaeomagnetic dating to help establish a chronology for the site, in conjunction with four features previously dated in 2001. One of the features appeared to have been a hearth dating from the early medieval period. However archaeomagnetic analysis shows that it has slumped since it was last fired and thus cannot be dated. The other feature was a fire hardened clay surface, which abutted, and possibly continued beneath, some of the features dated in 2001. Its archaeomagnetic date showed that it was last fired in the Anglo-Saxon period. However, the poor precision of archaeomagnetism for this period prevents any further elucidation of its chronological relationship to the other features.
- Report Number:
- 98/2002
- Series:
- CfA Reports
- Pages:
- 20
- Keywords:
- Archaeomagnetism
