Glossary

abbess
a woman in charge of the nuns in an abbey

abbey
buildings where monks or nuns live and worship

AD
the dating system for counting years after the birth of Jesus Christ, stands for Anno Domini (the Latin meaning 'in the year of our lord'), also known as CE (meaning 'common era')

administration
the work of managing a business or a place

afterlife
the belief that there is some form of life after a person's body dies

almshouses
houses built by a charity for poor people to live in

amber
a yellow stone used in jewellery

amphora
a Roman wine container with two handles and a thin neck

aristocratic
the most important and rich people in a community

artefact
an object from the past

artist's impression
a drawing created by an artist showing what he or she thinks life was like in the past

axe
a tool with a metal head and a wooden handle, used for chopping materials such as wood

bailey
see motte and bailey

barbarian
someone from an uncivilised tribe; often used to describe cruel or rough people without any manners

BC
the dating system of counting back years before the birth of Jesus Christ, stands for Before Christ, also know as BCE (Before the Common Era)

boom economy
a period of time when people became rich very quickly

boundary
a line marking the outside edge of an area, such as a village or castle grounds

brewery
buildings where beer is made

broch
an Iron-Age fortified farmhouse

bust
a model of a person’s head, shoulders and chest area

carbon dating
a way of dating an object by studying chemical changes in the material

causeway
a raised track across wet land

cellar
a room below ground level

cemetery
a burial ground

chapel
a small church

charcoal
fuel made from burning wood

Christianity
the world's largest religion, followed by those who worship Jesus Christ

cist burial
a body buried in a coffin made from stone slabs or a hollow tree, a common form of burial in Bronze-Age times

civilian
someone not in the army, navy or air force

cloister
a covered walkway in a monastery or church

core sample
a small piece of material removed from a large object so that it can be studied and dated in a laboratory, for example a piece of wood taken from a beam in a house

cremation
the process of burning a dead body, the ashes are often collected in an urn (a jar-like container)

crop lines
lines that can be seen in fields from the air, often showing where buildings used to stand

crusades
religious wars in middle eastern countries, ordered by the Pope in medieval times

culvert
an underground water channel

curtain wall
the wall around the outside of castle buildings, built to protect it from attack

cuttlefish
a type of sea creature with a long body and ten arms

daub
a mixture of mud and straw used to plaster walls, usually applied to a wattle fence

deity
a god or goddess

demise
when something dies out or ends

demolish
to pull down and destroy a building completely

denarii
Roman coins made of melted metal, a single coin was called a denarius

dendrochronology
a system of dating wooden objects by studying the annual growth rings of trees

discard
to throw something away

dormitory
a room for sleeping in with several beds

drain
a channel or pipe for water to flow through

empire
a group of countries ruled by one government, such as the countries that were ruled by the Romans

enthusiast
someone who is very keen about something, such as a hobby or sport

erosion
wearing away the land by the actions of water and wind

estuary
the area where a river meets the sea, a wide wet tidal area

evidence
information or artefacts that prove that something is true or untrue

excavation
digging out an area of ground to look for evidence of the past

eyewitness
someone who saw an incident and can give evidence about it

fairway
the area of a golf course between the tee and the green

fleet
a number of warships commanded by one captain

flue
a pipe or channel allowing smoke to escape

forensic
evidence related to the law

foreshore
the part of the sea shore between high and low tide

fortification
buildings designed to keep enemies away, such as a castle

fragment
a very small piece

frieze
a horizontal band of decoration along a wall, sometimes painted in bright colours

frontier
the border between two countries

furnace
an enclosed fire used for heating something, such as water or metal

generation
the people born in a particular lifetime, such as your parents’ generation

geophysics
a way of looking for evidence by studying the changes in rocks over time

grave goods/gifts
objects, often special possessions, buried with a person to help them in the afterlife

guild
an association or club of people with a similar interest or cause

headland
a piece of land jutting out into the sea

hearth
the area in front of a fireplace

henge
a circular area enclosed by a bank or ditch, used for religious ceremonies in prehistoric times

high status
the position of an important or rich person in a community

Holy Land
land in the Middle East occupied by the Jews; parts of it are known as Israel and Palestine

indigenous population
people born in and belonging to a place

infirmary
a hospital

inscription
words carved on the surface of an object, such as a stone or coin

iron ore
rock that contains iron

itinerant
travelling from place to place

kiln
a large oven for burning or drying something, such as pottery

knight
a brave warrior in medieval times, often from a rich family; knights had to be loyal to the king and well mannered to everyone

lead oxide
a chemical made from a combination of lead and oxygen

leper
someone suffering from leprosy

leprosy
an infectious disease damaging the skin and nerves; a common disease in medieval times

lodgings
somewhere to stay, usually only for a short time

longhouse
a type of house where animals and humans live under one roof at opposite ends of a building

loom
a frame for weaving thread into fabric

marsh
a low, wet area of land that is sometimes flooded in wet weather

midden
a rubbish tip near where people lived

military
members of the army, navy or air force

mint
a place where money is made

moat
a ditch around a castle or settlement to help defend it, usually filled with water

monastery
buildings lived in by monks

monument
a structure built in memory of a person or event

mortar
a cup-shaped bowl used with a pestle for grinding herbs

mosaic
a picture or pattern produced by arranging small pieces of coloured stone

motte and bailey
an early form of castle first seen in the 10th century; the castle was built on a mound (motte) and surrounded by a defensive ditch. Land inside the ditch was the bailey

mould
a hollow container used to produce an object of a certain shape

natives
the people born in and belonging to a place

nave
the long central part of a church, often with aisles (long passages) leading off each side

orphan
a child whose parents have died

orphanage
a building where orphans are cared for

pagan
not belonging any of the main religions in the world

palace
a large grand house, often lived in by royalty

palisade
a row of pointed wooden stakes standing close together in the ground

peat
a compact layer of rotting vegetable matter found in uplands and bogs. It can be used as a fuel or to improve the soil

perimeter
the outside edge

pestle
a club-shaped tool for grinding herbs in a mortar

pier
a pillar supporting a structure such as an arch or bridge

piles
sharpened timbers standing in the ground

pilgrim
a person who travels to a holy place for religious reasons

population decline
when the number of people living in a place gets less, perhaps because of deaths due to an illness or people moving to different areas

portcullis
a gate that is opened by sliding up and down in vertical groves, used at the entrance to a castle

postmortem
an examination of a dead body to find out the cause of death

pottery
table and kitchenware made of fired clay

precinct
an enclosed area around a large church or cathedral

priory
another word for monastery, a place lived in by monks

promontory
another word for headland, a piece of land jutting out into the sea

rampart
a defensive walkway on top of a castle wall

reconstruction
making or building something in the same ways as it would have looked in the past

refectory
a room used for meals; another word for canteen

replica
an exact copy

ringditch
a circular defensive ditch around a group of buildings or settlement, similar to a henge

ringwork
another word for ringditch

ritual
a way of doing something following certain rules

round barrow
a Bronze-Age burial mound

roundhouse
an Iron-Age circular house

secular
non-religious

shipwright
someone who builds ships

shoreline
where the sea meets the shore

slag
waste material left after smelting iron

smelt
the process of melting iron ore to take out the iron

sparse
very few

spindle
a pin in a spinning wheel used for twisting and winding the thread

storey
a floor in a building

strategy
a method or plan for doing something

strigil
a skin scraper used by the Romans

substrata
a layer of rock or soil beneath the surface

subterranean
under the earth's surface

tavern
an inn where travellers could eat, drink and stay for the night; known today as a pub

telegram
an electronic message sent by telegraph (through a wire), delivered by a messenger boy. Most telegrams contained urgent messages

tithe maps
maps based on land surveys in the 1830s and 40s, drawn to settle disputes about land ownership

tram
a vehicle running on rails, carrying people or goods such as coal

tramway
a track with rails to carry trams

trench
a long narrow ditch dug into the ground to look for historical clues

trepidation
feeling afraid

tribe
a community of people with the same culture and language

unique
the only one of its type

Valhalla
the Viking term for the afterlife

vaulted
an arched roof supported on pillars

ventilation
a system to allow air to flow freely in a building

viaduct
a long bridge carrying a road or railway across a valley

votive offerings
a gift given to honour or thank a god

wattle
a fence made from interwoven sticks, often covered in daub to make a wall

woad
a plant used for its blue dye

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