ABSTRACT
Archaeological fieldwork within the parish of Shapwick produced one of the few comprehensive assemblages of glass from a rural location in the country. The Project recovered over 1816 fragments of glass (pre-dating the mid 20th century) representing a minimum of 286 vessels, although the actual number was probably far higher. Previous projects have tended to concentrate upon higher status structures, or have been too limited to provide a large assemblage. An exception to this has been the excavations at Wharram Percy, which produced the largest rural assemblage to date (Willmott in prep). Nevertheless, the Shapwick glass remains one of the most important post-medieval assemblages excavated thus far.
