Objects of the Past in the Past: Investigating the Significance of Earlier Artefacts in Later Contexts edited by Matthew G. Knight, Dot Boughton and Rachel E. Wilkinson. Paperback; 203x276mm; 77 figures, 11 tables (43 pages in colour). 89 2019.
Available both in print and Open Access. Printed ISBN 9781789692488. £40.00 (No VAT). Epublication ISBN 9781789692495.
How did past communities view, understand and communicate their pasts? And how can we, as archaeologists, understand this? In recent years these questions have been approached through studies of the extended occupation and use of landscapes, monuments and artefacts to explore concepts of time and memory. But what of objects that were already old in the past? Interpretations for these items have ranged from the discard of scrap to objects of veneration. Evidence from a range of periods would suggest objects of the past were an important part of many later societies that encountered them, either as heirlooms with remembered histories or rediscovered curiosities from a more distant past.
For the first time, this volume brings together a range of case studies in which objects of the past were encountered and reappropriated. It follows a conference session at the Theoretical Archaeological Group in Cardiff 2017, in which historians, archaeologists, heritage professionals and commercial archaeologists gathered to discuss this topic on a broad (pre)historical scale, highlighting similarities and contrast in depositional practices and reactions to relics of the past in different periods. Through case studies spanning the Bronze Age through to the 18th century AD, this volume presents new research demonstrating that the reappropriation of these already old objects was not anomalous, but instead represents a practice that recurs throughout (pre)history.
About the EditorsMatthew G. Knight is the curator of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age collections at National Museums Scotland and Chair of the Later Prehistoric Finds Group. He specialises in the production, use and deposition of Bronze Age metalwork and completed his PhD on the deliberate destruction of metalwork in south-west England in 2018. He continues to be fascinated by destructive practices across Europe and is currently preparing a monograph on the subject. Matt’s MA thesis concerned out-of-time Bronze Age metalwork and he is frequently distracted by the relationship people in the past held with their own pasts and their treatment of already old material culture in the Bronze Age, or indeed any other time period.
Dot Boughton originates from Germany and is a prehistoric metalwork specialist who now works as a freelancer and translator in Cumbria. Dot did her undergraduate degree at the Freie Universität Berlin and moved to England in 1999, where she completed an MSt (2000) and MPhil (2001) in Anglo-Saxon Archaeology at the University of Oxford. In 2015 she completed her PhD dissertation on Early Iron Age socketed axes in Britain at the University of Central Lancashire. Dot was the Portable Antiquities Scheme’s Finds Liaison Officer for Lancashire and Cumbria from 2005–2017 and the Curator of Archaeology for Lancashire Museums 2017–2018. She worked for Oxford Archaeology (North) as their Finds, Archives and Environmental Officer from 2018–2019. Dot is now a freelance small finds specialist, writing metalwork reports for units and museums. She also translates historical German documents into English and vice versa.
Rachel E. Wilkinson is an archaeologist and numismatist and her AHRC-funded PhD examined the Iron Age metalwork object hoards from Britain (800 BC – AD 100), creating a national database for Iron Age object hoards which examined their contents, regional distribution and interaction with coin hoards. Previous positions during her PhD include Documentation Assistant and Project Curator: Romano-British collections at the British Museum, she currently freelances as a small finds specialist, editor and historical consultant.
An overview of the latest prehistoric research in Qumayrah Valley, Sultanate of Oman (poster) by Marcin Białowarczuk & Agnieszka Szymczak. Pages 25-31 from
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 49 2019 edited by Daniel Eddisford. PSAS.
This paper concerns the prehistoric part of a project run by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and the Ministry of Heritage and Culture of Oman, in the micro-region of Qumayrah. The project, instigated in 2016, includes a survey, testing, and excavations of selected sites. During two seasons of investigations, archaeological sites of varied chronology were recorded, three of which were attested to late Stone Age occupation. The largest site (QA 2), although deflated, yielded a rich collection of lithics found in the context of a stone hearth, a platform, and the remains of a shelter. The lithics included simple tools produced by direct-scaled retouch, rare tanged projectile points made on flakes, and bifacial foliated pieces. Tubular beads of stone and shell (including Akab-type beads), and worked seashells, attest to connections with coastal regions. The two other sites (QA 6 and QA 12) are less well preserved, but surface collection and limited testing yielded lithic collections, including tanged spear points. At this stage, techno-typological analysis of materials is the only means of establishing a chronology of these sites. However, new information from this region of Oman is significant considering the disproportion between the state of research at coastal areas and inland territories.
Keywords: Neolithic, Oman, al-Hajjar mountains, campsites, lithics
The gendered household: making space for women in the study of Islamic archaeology in Qatar (poster) by Elizabeth R. Hicks. Pages 159-165 from
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 49 2019 edited by Daniel Eddisford. PSAS.
This paper outlines the archaeological evidence for the activities of women within domestic compounds in Qatar, from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century. The work of feminist scholars within Western archaeology has established that gender is an important component of a person’s social life. When the focus shifts to the archaeological literature of the Arabian Gulf, the narrative of women’s lives is lost.
This research paper presents evidence from recent excavations of domestic compounds at three key sites in Qatar: Fuwayrit, Furayḥah, and al-Zubārah. This investigation synthesizes historical, ethnographic, and archaeological research not only to envisage the presence of women, but also to explore the processes that create gender identity in the context of Qatar. This paper will demonstrate that in recognizing the activities of women within the archaeological record, a more complete understanding can be gained of the society and economy of Qatar during this period.
Keywords: gender, household activity, Islamic archaeology, Qatar, women