Year Books

This page deals with the Year Books but puts them in the context of the Thematic Series. Another purpose of this page is to give the contents of each volume, as their utility to any given reader cannot otherwise be judged.

The Preface to the first year book, covering 1986 and published in 1987, explains the purpose of the year books and the thematic series. The fate of both series is given below.

" .... the Butser Ancient Farm Research Project Trust [this was one of several names taken over time to cover the BAF activities] has been conducting research programmes devoted to the elucidation of the agricultural and domestic economy of the Iron Age [in Britain], since July 1972. Despite the publication of a large number of papers in academic journals on a worldwide scale ............... the primary data upon which the published syntheses aree based are not generally or easily accessible."

The preface continues by exploring the enormity of the task of making such data available, both from its sheer quantity and the fact that conventional publications do not address the issue. The situation is compounded by the back-log arising from the original decision not to release results until 10 years from the start date for the work.

The Year Book Series was intended to address these issues. Additionally, there was a plan to publish a series of thematic volumes [a] Experimental Earthworks [b] Harvest Data [c] Grain Storage in Underground Pits. In the event, the last two elements were included in the year books, with reduced coverage.

A sequence of events, both organisational and financial, curtailed the Year Book Series to 4 volumes. Only the Earthworks Series, of the thematic schemes, was realised, with 5 volumes being published for each of the Wroughton and Fishbourne Earthworks.

References to A. Hamlin, as author, are because he was an outside researcher, not on the Farm staff. He had worked as a scientist at Harwell prior to retirement and carried out several long-running projects in respect of the probable technological routes to the realisation of the major Iron Age metals.

Preface
Empiricism in Archaeology
Celtic Gold
Harvest Data 1986
Grain storage in Underground Silos 1984-5 and 1985-7
Sherd Movement in the Ploughzone
Experimental Earthworks
Meteorological Records 1986 [published separately in later years]

Preface		1
Technology and Archaeology A Hamlin		3
Harvest Data 1987		47
Grain storage in Underground Silos 1986-7		121
Sherd Movement in the Ploughzone		159
Bibliography of published papers [to 1987]		171

Preface		1
The scientific basis for the [re]construction of prehistoric and protohistoric houses		3
Grain storage in Underground Silos 1987-8		109
Sherd Movement in the Ploughzone		133
Bibliography of published papers		179

Preface		1
Primitive Firing Technology A.Hamlin		1
The Lead Route to Bronze A.Hamlin		17
Sherd Movement in the Ploughzone Phase IV		33
Sherd Movement in the Ploughzone Phase V		77
Harvest Data 1989		91
Grain storage in Underground Silos 1988-9		151
Bibliography of published papers		175