Introduction

Urban archaeology, the archaeological study of cities, has been a subject of interest to archaeologists for centuries and in fact their interest has inspired some members of the public to equate the whole field of archaeology with the study of cities such as Teotihua-can, Machu Picchu, and Uruk. In 1979, Bert Salwen (often referred to as the ‘father of urban archaeology’ in the United States) made an important distinction between two different kinds of urban archaeology: archaeology in the city and archaeology of the city. He defined archaeology in the city as the excavation of sites that happen to be located in modern cities, but which may or may not reflect the development of those urban centers. Port Mobil, a 9000-year-old Native American site located in what is now New York City, is an example of an important urban site that does not reflect the history of its city.

Archaeology of the city, in contrast, is the study of sites that relate to the development of the city in which they are located; it examines the urban process, how cities form and develop, and how archaeologists can recognize urbanization in material remains.

Furthermore, archaeology of the city views the city as an artifact and examines the functions of its various parts, exploring how these relate to events and histories in the world and how they have changed with modern global processes. Until relatively recently, most archaeological studies of the city focused either on ancient cities or on the deeper history of modern cities - for example, the Roman, Viking, or medieval periods of London’s history. It is only within the last few decades that urban archaeologists have turned their attention to the study of the modern history of modern cities, in other words, the last 400 or 500 years of urban history. It is the archaeological study of the modern city as exemplified by the study of the cities of Britain and some of her former colonies that we discuss in this entry.

We begin by briefly discussing what we mean by ‘a city’ and how urban entities develop. While there are many definitions, perhaps the simplest is that it is a central place in a region where settlements have become differentiated in size and function. Towns as well as cities are part of the urban process because they are centers of power and are the initial sources of modernization. They serve to integrate the surrounding areas through their markets, creating a magnet for industry as it develops. The early British model of a town (from which most American towns derived) shows a layout adapted from the original Roman town plan in which a castle, a church, and a market were centrally located. For example, Sheffield, which was located at the intersection of trade routes in the seventeenth century, had these features and developed the manufacturing of cutlery - axes, razors, sickles, knives - thus enhancing its growth.

Transportation was also essential in determining the locations of cities and towns, which developed at the intersection of trade routes. In order to succeed, subsequent forms of transportation had to privilege the town’s location. Annapolis, Maryland, for example, lost its centrality to Baltimore when the railroad bypassed it. In contrast to those communities developing at intersections, many American towns, formed away from the coast in the ‘wilderness’, were explicit gambles, investments in the promise of the area. Wherever these formed, they represented a shift from agricultural use of the land to the characterization of land as a commodity which could be subdivided and sold.

Successful towns are able to grow and modify their land use patterns through time. Once industrialization is in place, urban formation accelerates and the specialized use of land becomes more marked. Conflicts emerge among the users of urban space. City government in the form of planning agencies tries to control the use of space (and society) through design, but conflicts between landlords, tenants, industrialists, and workers develop, and it is they who negotiate land use. One of the common phenomena reflected in British-derived urban landscapes, no matter where in the world they are found, is the creation of hidden places and locations designated as slums. This label often serves to create a safe place for socially marginal residents, such as ethnic minorities and the poor. Many of these urban processes, developments, and conflicts are amenable to archaeological and documentary examination, through historic maps and records of land use, such as deeds, plats, etc., and through artifact and soils analyses.