archaeological research at the edge of empire

This appeared under the title Edges of Empire – the new excavations at Binchester Roman town, UK in the 2010 opening edition of the online magazine Electrum – [Link] Gary Devore and Michael Shanks Binchester Barrack block turned abattoir – the late cattle ranch in the corner of the fort. The town extended beyond over…

things – beyond objects

Two new books add depth to my long-running ruminations on the character of things. Nonobject, by Branko Lukic and Barry Katz, was published this week by MIT Press [Link] It’s a rather beautiful book about Branko’s design work. Barry (and Bill Moggridge in his foreword) provide fascinating commentary. The nonobject is inbetween, relational, interstitial, combinatory….

Gorillaz – the archaeological imagination

Superb performance last night from Gorillaz at Oakland Arena. Their latest, Plastic Beach, has an environmentalist theme, but avoids trite treatment of such a common and pressing matter of concern. (The contrast with the likes of movie Avatar is stark.) Human concern – – Damon Albarn, graphic artist Jamie Hewlett, the 2D virtual members of…