DOI: 10.33547/terra.fertilis01
Exploitation, settlement and abandonment in the Weald of southern England, from prehistory to the Middle Age
by Andrew Richardson and Paul-Samual Armour
in Terra fertilis, terra deserta. Exploitation of marginal zones, edited by M. J. Przybyła, J. Rodzińska-Nowak and M. Wojenka, Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung 15, Braunschweig – Kraków: Braunschweigische Landesmuseum, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Profil-Archeo, pp. 13-30.
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The article presents the results of the Lossenham Project, a landscape-based archaeological study focused on the Weald region in southeast England. The study investigates long-term patterns of human activity in what has traditionally been regarded as a marginal environment, characterised by heavy clay soils and difficult living conditions.
Drawing on archaeological, environmental, and historical evidence, the authors demonstrate that the Weald was not an uninhabited wilderness but was actively exploited from the Mesolithic through the Iron Age. Prehistoric communities utilized the region for hunting, seasonal settlement, and later agricultural and industrial activities, including iron production. During the Roman period, the area became a significant centre of iron production, likely organized under state or military control, particularly by the Classis Britannica. This industrial intensification appears to have disrupted earlier settlement patterns and contributed to the abandonment of sites such as Lossenham itself.
The study identifies a marked decline in occupation during the late Roman period, likely caused by a combination of economic collapse, political instability, and climatic deterioration. By the 4th–6th centuries AD, the Weald had become sparsely populated or largely abandoned. In the early Anglo-Saxon period, the region functioned primarily as a wooded frontier zone between emerging kingdoms, with only limited and seasonal use, such as pasturing livestock.
The authors argue that the concept of “marginality” is historically contingent and dynamic. Rather than being permanently peripheral, the Weald alternated between phases of intensive exploitation, strategic importance, and relative abandonment. The article thus highlights the importance of long-term landscape perspectives in understanding how environmental, economic, and political factors shape patterns of settlement and land use over time.