Archaeologists in the eastern counties have created a regional research framework for Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk which is intended to provide a firm foundation for archaeological work — generating high quality research and ensuring that the full potential of PPG investigations is realised. The framework is published in the EAA Occasional Papers series and is now available online. It follows the structure set out by Olivier in Frameworks for Our Past (English Heritage) and comprises:

Resource assessment: the current state of knowledge and understanding.
Research agenda: gaps in knowledge, potential of resource, research topics.
Research strategy: priorities and methods for achieving research aims.

Occ Pap 3, 1997: Research and Archaeology: a Framework for the Eastern Counties
1. resource assessment, edited by Jenny Glazebrook
87pp, 12figs, 10pls. £6.50

The background to the regional research framework is explained in an introduction by David Buckley. The current state of knowledge is then reviewed, period by period, in chapters by Louise Austin, Nigel Brown, Stewart Bryant, Chris Going, Keith Wade, Brian Ayers, Paul Gilman, Sarah Green, Shane Gould and Peter Murphy.

click here to download entire paper as single PDF file (3363kb, may take some minutes)

or download individual chapters from list below
Contents and Introduction (295kb)
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (254kb)
Neolithic and Bronze Age (483kb)
Iron Age (465kb)
Roman (629kb)
Post-Roman rural (521kb)
Post-Roman urban (432kb)
Post-medieval and later (461kb)
Index (45kb)

Occ Pap 8, 2000: Research and Archaeology: a Framework for the Eastern Counties
2. research agenda and strategy, edited by Nigel Brown and Jenny Glazebrook
73pp, 11figs. £6.50

Seven period-based chapters set out a research agenda by looking at the evidence available across the region, identifying gaps in knowledge and suggesting research topics. A thematic chapter puts forward research issues which cut across period divisions and which could be usefully addressed within the region. The concluding chapter sets out a research strategy which considers priorities for research and outlines an integrated approach within the region, exploring collaborative arrangements and partnerships.

click here to download entire paper as single PDF (1470kb, may take some minutes)

or download individual chapters from list below
Contents (43kb)
Introduction (45kb)
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (147kb)
Neolithic and Bronze Age (190kb)
Iron Age (126kb)
Roman (158kb)
Post-Roman rural (157kb)
Post-Roman urban (131kb)
Post-medieval and later (425kb)
Research themes (54kb)
Research strategy (266kb)
Appendix: current research (59kb)
Index (37kb)