Cootes, K, Broughton, D, Armstrong, C, Axworthy, J, Jordan, D, Russ, H and Carlin, R (2021) A time capsule of a time capsule: A charcoal filled pit within Poulton Chapel graveyard. Cheshire History Journal, 61. pp. 195-201.

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Abstract

The Poulton Project is a research excavation founded with the purpose of identifying the location of a short-lived Cistercian Abbey, recorded in historical documents as being established during the civil wars of Stephen and Matilda in the twelfth century. After only six decades, it was translated to Dieulacres in Staffordshire, offering archaeologists the unique opportunity to study a monastic complex in its initial form. Although the location remains unidentified, the search led to the investigation of a late medieval chapel (centred on SJ 40092 58513) first discovered by the landowner in the 1960s. Systematic excavation has revealed this to be the burial ground for the lay folk and their families who farmed the land for the Cistercians. In 2017 a pit was discovered beneath several burials in the graveyard, which provided our first glimpse of the monastic landscape. A stone capping had preserved a single charcoal rich backfill event of domestic hearth waste. Environmental analysis has provided extensive information on landuse, trade, and the local environment during this enigmatic period in Cheshire’s history.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology D History General and Old World > D History (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Divisions:	Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	Cheshire Local History Association
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	08 Apr 2024 11:02
Last Modified:	08 Apr 2024 11:02
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/22959

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