Archaeology of Later Periods 2

Settlement development in the feudal era: villages formation, castles and other fortifications, urbanization. Interconnectedness of settlement forms and structures with their economic and social contexts. Approaches current in rural settlement studies. Development of villages and field systems in the light of the evolution of the feudal social forms and economic strategies. Development of rural housing and ancillary buildings, formation of farms as architectural complexes. Medieval castle as an economic centre, lordly residence and military stronghold. Methods and approaches current in castle studies. Early castle types and the ensuing architectural development, connections between the fortification elements and the contemporary military techniques. Practical functions (residential, economic, military) and the symbolic meanings of castles. Medieval urban civilization: its roots, legal and social specifics. Archaeological criteria of urbanity. Development of architecture and urban design, communal infrastructure, economy, religious life. Social differentiation, multiethnicity and multiculturalism. Approaches current in medieval urban studies (interdisciplinarity).