Ebook: Medieval Industry

The spread of topics discussed in the following pages forms apt comment on certain achievements and problems in medieval archaeology. There has been, for example, no difficulty in securing contributions in the fields of ceramics or glass, metal smelting and smithing, or milling. Metal smelting and grain milling logically extended to the early use of power. Yet both in planning and in retrospect there are fields where further work is seen to be necessary, such as textile manufacture. It was decided that here, in present circumstances, there was much to be said for setting out with a contribution on the major raw materials, wool, as a basis for future discussion of processes in which it was used.