Nottingham, as one of the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw, a key strategic pre-Conquest borough, and the most important royal governmental hub in central England by the time of the Angevin kings, from Henry II to John (1154–1216), is a city with a fascinating story to tell. However, the study of its origins and early development has been somewhat neglected. A major contributory factor is that key archaeological excavations undertaken in the city between 1969 and 1980 remain unpublished, while since 1980, the outcomes of development-led excavation have not provided sufficient opportunities to investigate key areas on an equal scale. In the last few years, preliminary evaluation of material from the unpublished excavations under the aegis of the Origins of Nottingham project and an increase in archaeological investigation has again started to highlight the wealth of potential insight to be gained from the archaeological deposits preserved beneath Nottingham’s streets. Exploring and interpreting these remains are crucial if we are tostart to understand Nottingham’s growth and significance as a major urban settlement in medieval central England between the seventh and thirteenth centuries
