Figuration. Statue. Flint pebble rolled by the Storebaelt, Nyborg, Fyn. Titan Kronos, fearful of the prophecy that his children would overthrow him, ate them whole upon their birth. Until Rhea, his partner, gave Kronos a stone that he mistook for the infant god Zeus. Having returned from Mount Ida where he grew to maturity, Zeus…
metamorphosis
Becoming stone — death and transfiguration
Stevns Klint, Denmark. A vitalist and hylozoic commentary. Exposed limestone and chalk geology. Højerup old church. The beds of stone are massive cemeteries of prehistoric marine life. Limestone — the sedimentary rock composed chiefly of calcium carbonate, mostly the accumulated and cemented skeletal debris of marine life. Chalk — the soft, pure, highly porous white limestone formed…
Newsletter — Stanford Archaeology Center
Prospective reflections on 2025-26 Acting with nature — prehistory My new book Archaeologies of Nature: Activating the Archive, written with Gabriella Giannachi, University of Exeter and Turin, is now complete and in production. Open Access — it will be available as PDF in June 2026. We use an archaeology of artworks to probe human relationships…
The archaeological life of things — Bornholm
Hosts, ghosts, visitors For some years I have been making archaeological visits to Bornholm, the Danish island south of Sweden. Rock art, unique prehistoric sites and monuments, medieval settlement, churches and castles, rune stones, fishing industry, cold war relics, an arts community since the nineteenth century, contemporary heritage and tourism. The mingling remains of many…
Studio update – Spring 2022
This academic year I am on sabbatical leave finishing three long-running projects and planning to focus more on applications of the archaeological imagination to matters of common and pressing contemporary concern, especially through design foresight and futures literacy. This is why I have put to one side my critical commentary on all things archaeological and…
sampling and re-presentation
Sampled pigments from mine tailings. Amelia Colliery, Shankhouse, Cramlington, Northumberland UK. Closed 1938. One of many coal mines in south east Northumberland. The pit heap was notorious for its internal burning – hence the red and orange oxides. Non-representation. Post-phenomenology. Part of project Borderlands – [Link]