Source utility — physical evidence

Question (10 marks): How useful is the surviving physical fabric of a historic site (e.g. a castle keep, monastic precinct, or country house) to a historian investigating the social and political priorities of its builders? Explain your answer.

Mark scheme (OCR levels-based):

• Level 1 (1–3): Simple comments on usefulness; description of the site without analysis. E.g. 'It is useful because we can see it'.
• Level 2 (4–6): Identifies specific features (e.g. great hall, chapel, defensive walls) and links them to general purposes (defence, status). Some provenance awareness.
• Level 3 (7–8): Explains usefulness with reference to NOP — nature, origin, purpose. Discusses both content (what features show) and limitations (later phasing, slighting, restoration).
• Level 4 (9–10): Sustained, substantiated judgement. Weighs utility against reliability, identifies silences (e.g. servants' quarters rarely survive intact), cross-references with documentary sources, and reaches a clear conclusion answering 'useful for what'.
• Reward named contextual detail: dates, architects, historical processes.