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…
noise
ghost in the mirror
media archaeology More than twenty years ago I discovered the daguerreotype — one of the earliest of photographic media. Images are formed in a camera on polished light sensitive silver-plated copper—on mirrors. These are not just simply early photographs. They are unique one-off images, and positive-negative—you have to catch the mirrored surface at the right…
Archaeological shores: reflections on a metaphysics of cartography
Field notes. The pragmatics of an archaeological sensibility — what might one do in an archaeological visit to the beach? For as long as I can remember maps have made me anxious. Where does one draw the line of a coast, a road, a river? In archaeological excavation one is regularly required to document, record,…
Bewick’s dog
In my favorite bookstore, Barter Books, in the old station in Alnwick, Northumberland, I found an old edition of Bewick’s woodcuts. One of them shows a dog fearful of faces and monstrous creatures seen in some trees at night. (Thomas Bewick (c. 11 August 1753 – 8 November 1828) — wood-engraver and natural history author…
Chris Tilley – mythographic triptych (annotated)
Reflections on the work of Christopher Yates Tilley 2 This is Part 2 of a reflection upon the works of Chris Tilley, prompted by his too-early death in March 2024. I want to do justice to the range and depth, the significance of his work in anthropology and archaeology. My reflections are based on memories,…
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]