A guest lecture by Dr Andy Margetts introducing the key findings of his new book The Wandering Herd.
Posted Wed, 28 Apr 2021
Parts of medieval Kent, particularly the North Downs and North Kent Plain, were home to specialised cattle ranches known as vaccaries. They emerged during the early medieval period when they appear to have been the preserve of Kentish royalty.
Dr Andy Margetts gave a talk to the KAS introducing the key findings of a new book entitled The Wandering Herd. The author hopes this study will change ingrained perceptions regarding the nature of pastoralism within South-East England over the longue durée of the medieval period. It shows the importance of cattle within the evolution of the area’s society, settlement and landscape.
Open on YouTube→
Andy Margetts completed his PhD in medieval pastoralism at the University of Exeter in 2020. He currently works as a Post-Excavation Manager at Archaeology South-East (Institute of Archaeology, UCL). He has written several articles and two books on medieval archaeology. Andy has excavated widely in Kent, including medieval farmstead sites on the Isle of Sheppey, at the medieval Hospital of St Mary, Ospringe and at the Roman vicus settlement at Richborough Castle.
Many thanks to Andy for agreeing to give a talk for us and we wish him well with his book launch.
The Wandering Herd: available now from Windgather Press/Oxbow: oxbowbooks.com→