Michael AstonRobert Higham is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Exeter. His research interests cover two broad topics relating to the medieval period: the general theme of defence, in both its military and social aspects, and the medieval archaeology f South West England. He has directed a number of excavations and published several books. He has particular interests in the interplay between archaeological and historical data in the medieval period. Specific areas of research include urban defence, the archaeology, social and settlement history of castles and castle-building society, and the settlement history of Greater Exmoor. Della Hooke is part-time Senior Lecturer in Historical Geography and Landscape Conservation at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, after many years as a Research Fellow in the University of Birmingham. Simon Burnell taught early medieval archaeology in the University of Exeter from 1990 to 1992, and has since taught at the universities of Berne and Zurich. He works as a freelance consultant and is based in Suffolk. Read More Read Less