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Early Medieval Place-Names and Riverine Flood Histories: A New Approach and New Chronostratigraphic Records for Three English Rivers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2020

B. Pears Open the ORCID record for B. Pears [Opens in a new window] ,
A.G. Brown Open the ORCID record for A.G. Brown [Opens in a new window] ,
J. Carroll Open the ORCID record for J. Carroll [Opens in a new window] ,
P. Toms Open the ORCID record for P. Toms [Opens in a new window] ,
J. Wood Open the ORCID record for J. Wood [Opens in a new window]  and
R. Jones Open the ORCID record for R. Jones [Opens in a new window]
B. Pears
Affiliation:
Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, UK
A.G. Brown
Affiliation:
Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, UK
J. Carroll
Affiliation:
Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham, UK
P. Toms
Affiliation:
School of Natural and Social Science, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK
J. Wood
Affiliation:
School of Natural and Social Science, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK
R. Jones
Affiliation:
Centre for English Local History, University of Leicester, UK
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Abstract

Environmental information from place-names has largely been overlooked by geoarchaeologists and fluvial geomorphologists in analyses of the depositional histories of rivers and floodplains. Here, new flood chronologies for the rivers Teme, Severn, and Wye are presented, modelled from stable river sections excavated at Broadwas, Buildwas, and Rotherwas. These are connected by the Old English term *wæsse, interpreted as ‘land by a meandering river which floods and drains quickly’. The results reveal that, in all three places, flooding during the early medieval period occurred more frequently between AD 350–700 than between AD 700–1100, but that over time each river's flooding regime became more complex including high magnitude single events. In the sampled locations, the fluvial dynamics of localized flood events had much in common, and almost certainly differed in nature from other sections of their rivers, refining our understanding of the precise nature of flooding which their names sought to communicate. This study shows how the toponymic record can be helpful in the long-term reconstruction of historic river activity and for our understanding of past human perceptions of riverine environments.

Les informations environmentales obtenues à l'aide de la toponymie ont largement été négligées par les géoarchéologues et géomorphologues dans leurs analyses de la sédimentation fluviale et des zones inondables. En Angleterre, presque 2000 noms de lieux peuplés sont liés aux charactéristiques du cours d'eau au près duquel ils se sont établis. L'origine de la plupart de ces noms remonte au début du Moyen Âge (environ 500–1100 apr. J.-C.) et certains rappellent des endroits sujets à inondation. Les indicateurs indirects de haute précision fournis par les sciences naturelles ainsi que les nouvelles techniques de datation de sédiments permettent de nos jours de confronter cette information toponymique à la séquence des dépôts fluviaux obtenus par carottage. Les auteurs présentent ici trois nouvelles séquences chronologiques d'inondations affectant les rivières Teme, Severn et Wye, élaborées à partir de tronçons de rivière stables, échantillonnées à Broadwas, Buildwas et Rotherwas; ces noms de lieux contiennent le terme *wæsse en vieil anglais, qui signifierait « terrain bordant une rivière à méandres facilement inondable et à drainage rapide ». Il en ressort que l’époque entre 350 et 700 apr. J.-C. est caractérisée par des inondations plus fréquentes qu'entre 700 et 1100 apr. J.-C mais que cette dernière phase se distingue par plus de variation sédimentaire. Ceci indiquerait un régime de crues plus complexe, y compris des évènements ponctuels de grande ampleur. Les auteurs proposent en conclusion que la toponymie peut se révéler utile à la reconstruction de l'histoire des rivières sur le long terme et nous permet de mieux comprendre la conception que l'on se faisait des milieux fluviaux. Translation by Pauline Delorme

Angaben über die Umwelt, die in den Ortsnamen überliefert sind, sind von den Geoarchäologen und Flussgeomorphologen weitgehend in ihren Untersuchungen der Ablagerungsgeschichte von Flüssen und Auen übersehen worden. In England gibt es fast 2000 Ortsnamen, die einen oder anderen Aspekt der Eigenschaften ihrer Lage an einem Fluss beschreiben. Die meisten erschienen im Frühmittelalter (ca. 500–1100 n. Chr.), darunter einige, die Orte, welche bekanntlich von Überschwemmungen bedroht waren, beschreiben. Hochpräzise wissenschaftliche Proxydaten und neue Datierungsmethoden für Sedimente ermöglichen es jetzt, die toponymischen Angaben mit der Ablagerungsgeschichte von Flüssen, die auf der Basis von Bohrkernen rekonstruiert werden konnte, zu vergleichen. Neue chronologische Abfolgen für die Flüsse Teme, Severn und Wye werden hier aufgrund ausgegrabener Flussstrecken in Broadwas, Buildwas, und Rotherwas vorgestellt; diese Orte sind mit dem altenglischen Begriff *wæsse, verknüpft, was mit „Land bei einem mäandernden Fluss, das schnell überflutet und entwässert”. Es ergibt sich, dass es häufiger Überflutungen zwischen 350 und 700 n. Chr. als zwischen 700 und 1100 n. Chr. gab aber, dass der letztere Zeitabschnitt von größeren Schwankungen in der Sedimentabfolge geprägt war. Dies deutet auf ein komplexeres Hochwasserregime, inklusiv einzelne schwere Ereignisse. Diese Untersuchung zeigt, dass die Ortsnamenkunde bei der langfristigen Rekonstruktion der historischen Flussaktivität hilfreich sein kann und zum Verständnis der menschlichen Vorstellungen von Flusslandschaften beitragen kann. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords

chronostratigraphyearly medievalEnglandfloodingplace-namesriversOSLchronostratigraphiehaut moyen âgeAngleterreinondationstoponymierivièresOSLChronostratigrafieFrühmittelalterEnglandÜberschwemmungenOrtsnamenFlüsseOSL
Type
Article
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , August 2020 , pp. 381 - 405
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2020

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