Originally published in 1981 The Origins of Open Field Agriculture looks at the problems connected with open field agriculture â the origins of strip cultivation the three-field system the adaptation of âCelticâ fields and the development of ploughing techniques. The book looks at the challenges to traditional ideas on the origins of settlement and their associated economy and casts new light on understandings of village development. The book suggests that conventional views of the nucleated village in the midst of open field strips as a product of the Anglo-Saxon migration is no longer tenable. The book brings together the work of distinguished archaeologists historians and historical geographers and opens up a new perspective on the early development of medieval agriculture. . Language: English