York Historic Environment Record

The existing evidence for plant macrofossil remains (largely excluding wood and charcoal) from archaeological deposits in the northern counties of England is reviewed. The quality and quantity of the data available are considered, and some recommendations for future approaches to work in the region presented. This review considers the nature, quantity, quality and significance of the evidence for macrofossil plant remains from archaeological deposits in the northern counties of England (following English Heritage's Northern Region area, these are all the English counties or districts north of and including Cheshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, N Lincolnshire and NE Lincolnshire). Note that, although wood and wood charcoal are considered at various points in this review, no detailed account of studies of these remains in the context of structures or artefacts is presented; a review of evidence for charcoal and small timber (such as roundwood) will be dealt with by Huntley ( arr - --)minc). These two reviews are part of a series commissioned by English Heritage, via their former Ancient Monuments Laboratory, from its environmental archaeologists. It is hoped that they will subsequently form the basis 11 for one of three regional syntheses of the various lines of bio- and geoarchaeological evidence. The initial 'material reviews'—for the northern counties, see also Kenward ( tncomu g), Usai ( ,j2; 200: ), and Huntley (forthcoming), plus two further accouts, dealing with vertebrates and pollen—and the syntheses which will follow, them are intended to provide information and guidance for archaeologists of all 11111 kinds—but principally (a) curators concerned with archaeological interventions undertaken as part of the planning process within local development control, (b) field excavators (including those undertaking development-led projects), and (c) those with a research interest in archaeology and particularly environmental archaeology. The aim of these evaluations, which now form the bulk of the work undertaken within field-based environmental archaeology in England, is to establish the quantity and quality of preservation of plant and animal remains and their enclosing sediments to inform the planning process.