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- Convenor:
-
Jodi Reeves Flores
(University of Exeter)
- Location:
- Great Hall, Wills
- Start time:
- 17 December, 2010 at
Time zone: Europe/London
- Session slots:
- 5
Short Abstract:
Images play a major role in conveying archaeological data and practice.They also place archaeology in its wider historical and social context. Participants are welcome to submit an image relating to archaeology and a separate description of the image (max of 1000 words in length) for this exhibit.
Long Abstract:
Images play a major role in conveying archaeological data and practice.They also place archaeology in its wider historical and social context. Participants are welcome to submit an image relating to archaeology and a separate description of the image (max of 1000 words in length) for this exhibit.
Potential participants will need to submit the following: an image of archaeological practice, and a draft description to accompany the image.
The image needs to be of high enough quality to be printed on A2 sized poster. The submission can consist of an image of past practice (for example, drawings of antiquarians excavating burrows or site plans), historical photographs and images of present practice (new excavation techniques, or students dealing with being in the field for the first time). As long as the subject matter relates to archaeology it will be considered. Participants will need to make sure they have the right to reproduce images that are not their own.
The final draft of the description to accompany the photograph will have to consist of a 1000 words or less. The description should include basic information: illustrator or photographer, location, date, etc. It can also include short stories associated with the image, as well as an evaluation of its make up or meaning. Descriptions will be placed on a separate placard from the images itself (think art exhibition).
Both the image and the description will be exhibited at the conference, and therefore need to be of appropriate quality.
When proposing your contribution, a 100-word abstract will be sufficient.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Jodi Reeves Flores (University of Exeter)
Paper short abstract:
Introduction to Exhibition session: A picture is worth a thousand words: images of archaeological practice, past and present
Paper long abstract:
Introduction to Exhibition session: A picture is worth a thousand words: images of archaeological practice, past and present
Martin Newman (English Heritage)
Paper short abstract:
Photograph of an archaeological excavation at Netley Abbey in 1893 by Henry Taunt.
Paper long abstract:
Henry Taunt photographed his excavations at Netley Abbey, Hampshire in 1893. This early photograph of an archaeological excavation in progress and was taken by a well known photographer of the day. There is a lot that can be said about this photograph in relation to the history of archaeology and the relative positions and social status of those featured in it. It is part of an archive held by the National Monuments Record (NMR) of English Heritage.
Stephen Harrison
Paper short abstract:
This image has been chosen to illustrate the methodological approach to a complex late nineteenth century barrow excavation on the Yorkshire Wolds.
Paper long abstract:
Duggleby Howe, an impressive and well-known third millennium bc round barrow on the Yorkshire Wolds, was excavated by John Robert Mortimer (1825-1911) in 1890. As well as various manuscripts, five contemporary photographs of the excavation survive. The selected image shows the excavation at an advanced stage, and demonstrates Mortimer's methodological approach to what was a major and complex undertaking in a potentially daqngerous working environment: the excavation consisted of a 12.9m x 12.9m trench descending c.7m through the mound. The photograph is interpreted and placed in the overall context of the excavation.
Duncan Wright (University of Exeter)
Paper short abstract:
A Poster of the English Countryside (Southern Railway, 1928)
Paper long abstract:
This image was originally used as part of an advertising campaign for travel to the Isle of Wight by Southern Railway.
Images such as this are viewed as 'typical' scenes of past English agricultural life and, as such, continue to pervade the thinking of medieval landscape archaeologists. Three years ago, Matthew Johnson (2007) produced a thorough critique of the current practice, both theoretical and methodological, of medieval landscape archaeology. Central to this thesis is the assertion that the imagery of Romanticism is ingrained in the psyche of landscape researchers, resulting in scholars working within a restricted and idealised intellectual framework.
Since Johnson's publication there has been strong opposition from some quarters of medieval landscape archaeology. The most consistent objection states that Romanticism only impacts interpretation and that the empirical, investigative process of landscape archaeology is a distinct discipline, free of theoretical biases (e.g. Fleming 2007). This poster questions whether such disparate stances may be reconciled, and reviews some approaches which may forward the theoretical development of medieval landscape archaeology.
Tara-Jane Sutcliffe (Archaeological Research Services Ltd)
Paper short abstract:
Historic Aerial Photography has the potential to access hidden, transient and destroyed aspects of the past. One oblique photograph of the White Horse of Kilburn, taken in August 1940, reveals a captivating story of conservation and camouflage of this prominent landmark in the North York Moors.
Paper long abstract:
Created as a folly in 1857 by a local businessman to emulate a prehistoric hill figure, the White Horse of Kilburn is cut into the south face of an Iron Age promontory fort at Roulston Scar. Over time the monument has been ravaged by storms, neglected, and defaced by protestors; camouflaged in order to impede enemy navigation during the Second World War; and repeatedly repaired. As a result the form has gradually modified from a white horse into a grey mare. The site is a case in point for conservation and management of the historic environment, demonstrating the value of historic aerial photography. For the air photo interpreter a picture is certainly worth a thousand words!
Helen Shalders (English Heritage)
Paper short abstract:
A consideration of the methods of researching medieval human remains in the 1950s and today.
Paper long abstract:
CA Ralegh Radford's photographic archive of the Glastonbury Abbey excavation season of 1956 contains three photographs of markedly different skeletons all labelled as 'Abbot Seffrid'. The identification of one of these skeletons as the remains as Seffrid was not included in later published material. The rationale for this identification and the apparent abandonment of this theory will be considered. The tools, both archival and scientific, available for identification of skeletal remains in the 1950s will be compared with those available today.
Rupert Till (University of Huddersfield) Ertu Unver Andrew Taylor (University of Huddersfield)
Paper short abstract:
This image is of a digital 3D model reconstruction of Stonehenge 3c.
Paper long abstract:
This image was created in order to illustrate what Stonehenge 3c may have looked like, and to illustrate the potentials and problems of such work. It has used LIDAR data to create an accurate surface layer, on which models of stones were placed which were generated from point clouds generated by laser scans. These were surfaced, and photographs of the stones were texture mapped onto the stones. Missing or fallen stones were replaced using copies of those still present. Lighting, weather and astronomical data were simulated and added. This image illustrates the archaeological use of digital photography and 3D modeling.
Philip Riris (University College London)
Paper short abstract:
This exhibit considers how multiple human spheres of activity mesh together, overlap and influence each other’s configuration in a variety of ways across time and space. Through seeking to construct a narrative of reflexive archaeological practice in the field, a photograph taken by the author during recent fieldwork in Misiones, Argentina will guide the discussion.
Paper long abstract:
This photograph was shot while carrying out a total area survey of a site in the upper reaches of the Piray Guazú river valley during April of 2010. The site is centred on a promontory of basaltic rock which yielded cultural remains that suggest it functioned as a collection site, workshop and quarry for workable stone for up to several millennia. Using this location as a vantage point, the image shows that the land the site falls within is presently under cultivation as a plantation for pine trees. In part, this is due to its relative flatness when compared to the steep-sided river valleys. While highly destructive to the structural integrity of archaeological sites, the discovery of a large quantity of the material recorded during survey was predicated on plantation activity, which involves slashing and burning the native vegetation, followed by ploughing the soil. This process brings artefacts to the surface, yet only the most durable material culture remains intact for archaeologists to find. This intersection of spheres of activity shown in the photograph - stone workshops, plantations and academic research - is interpreted in the context of social (re-)production, landscapes and attentiveness.
Genevieve Hill (University of Exeter)
Paper short abstract:
This image shows a boat-based survey of wetlands on the Northwest Coast. Previous TAG sessions have considered how waterscapes should be considered active spaces of cultural exchange and development. Here we see not only survey from the water, but a reorientation of attention to waterscapes and their interaction with the land.
Paper long abstract:
This photo comes from a boat-based wetland survey on the east coast of Vancouver Island, B.C., in the traditional territory of the Halkomelem people.
A great deal of the traditional territory of the Halkomelem is associated with watery features, yet previous archaeological survey in the area has turned up very little evidence of sites not directly associated with coastal middens. A look at the ethnographic record indicates that lakes, rivers and wetlands were all sites of intense human activity. This is supported by historic sources, which suggest that the Halkomelem made frequent use of the full spectrum of water features until reserves were created, and laws were introduced by the Crown to restrict access to resources. It is curious that in an area with such a vast number of watery places, survey on foot is still de rigueur. This is why traditional use practices associated with waterscapes not reflected in the archaeological literature.
Previous TAG sessions have considered how waterscapes, rather than being a barrier, should be considered active spaces of cultural exchange and development. Discussion was lively, and there seemed to be unanimous agreement that looking at archaeological sites from the perspective of those who were deeply connected with the water would be a very productive exercise.This image shows an attempt to survey from the water and to consider the experience of being reoriented in that environment.
Mike Dolamore MBE (The Durand Group) Andrew Hawkins QGM (Durand Group)
Paper short abstract:
Photograph of the initial recording of a recently rendered safe WW1 camouflet mine during excavation and recording of the O Sector deep defensive mining system at Vimy Ridge during 2005.
Paper long abstract:
The Great War witnessed the use of mining and tunnelling on an unparalleled scale in support of surface operations. However, the subject of subterranean warfare remains relatively sparsely documented and its integration with, and importance to, surface operations poorly understood. During the period 1998 - 2005 The Durand Group excavated access into, and undertook the archaeological investigation and recording of the 'O' Sector deep defensive mining system at Vimy Ridge in France. The archaeological investigation of these WW1 subterranean features poses unique challenges to the modern conflict archaeologist, as witnessed by the recently rendered safe mine charge, seen here being recorded.
Siân Smith (University of Exeter) Matt Blewett Naomi Hughes (University of Exeter)
Paper short abstract:
Photograph taken at a community excavation in East Devon in September 2008.
Paper long abstract:
This image illustrates an aspect of community archaeology in Britain today: young schoolchildren are being encouraged to take part in an excavation at the site of a nineteenth-century farmhouse in Devon, supervised by their teachers and a small team of archaeology students. The associated text interprets aspects of the photograph and considers some of the challenges encountered in introducing young children to archaeology, including the need for careful preparation of the site in advance, a relaxed attitude to excavating with garden trowels and plastic beach spades, and a five-year-old's perspective on archaeological headgear.