Medieval archaeology is one of the fastest-growing fields in archaeology today. Road construction and urban redevelopment have led to the discovery of new rural sites and to major programs of urban excavation in cities such as Winchester, York, Trondheim, and Lübeck. The rich medieval archaeological database has been used to address a range of important theoretical concerns in contemporary archaeology. Carefully collected faunal and floral data have been used to address problems of human economy and the natural environment in the Middle Ages.