As each successive volume in this series is published, new approaches to the interpretation of Anglo-Saxon sculpture have emerged in response to regional differences in the evidence. Lincolnshire is not a county in which much pre-tenth-century sculpture survives, although there are, for example, notable exceptions such as the architectural and cross sculptures at Edenham and South Kyme. A change in monumental fashion occurs after the Scandinavian conquest and settlement of the region, and the painstaking field-work of the authors over many years has revealed over 350 tenth- to eleventh-century stones. The analysis of the locations and ornament as well as the petrology of these stones has provided new insights into the cultural and political history of Lincolnshire, which is applicable also to a wider area of the Danelaw. Parts of Lincolnshire are also distinctive for the marked survival of Anglo-Saxon sculptural traditions after the Norman Conquest. This aspect of the region has been accommodated in additional appendices.

This is the first volume in the series in which the fieldwork and the production of the text have been an integrated effort by two contributors, Paul Everson and David Stocker; the catalogue entries and introductory chapters are thus not assigned to specific authors. Their common purpose has added greatly to the general feeling and coherence of the volume. The Committee is particularly grateful to the authors for the large proportion of the photographic illustrations which they have provided, as well as for the constructive way they responded to editorial comments by its members.

Invaluable help has also been provided by other specialists, in particular Bernard Worssam, who took over the geology in mid term, and Yvonne Beadnell, who once more has been responsible for most of the line drawings. John Higgitt and David Parsons have again contributed entries on the inscriptions. The Committee is very grateful for such continuing scholarly support, and for the effective and patient role of the part-time Research Fellow, Derek Craig, who also helped to complete the photographic coverage.

Lastly, as always, we must thank the University of Durham for housing the project and giving it material and moral support over many years. To the British Academy our thanks must be as profound as they are heartfelt.