Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey – an old story, but not the one that’s being talked about

Replaying Homer — Theatre/Archaeology. Notes on Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. The Odyssey, adapted from Homer and directed by Christopher Nolan. Even before its release on July 17, the movie generated much discussion and commentary. Historical accuracy – helmets from the wrong period, Viking ships in the Bronze Age, and an Agamemnon that looks like Batman. Fidelity to Homer’s…

Becoming stone — death and transfiguration

Stevns Klint, Denmark. Connie Svabo and I are visiting this extraordinary geological site that achieved World Heritage status in 2014. She was part of the team that developed the concept for the superb new visitor center [Link]. Here is a vitalist and hylozoic commentary. Exposed limestone and chalk geology. Højerup old church. The beds of…

Welsh memories in a Cretan landscape

I am on a short visit to Crete. Elounda, Lasithi. Out east. Past the prehistoric ruins of Malia, to where Chris (Witmore) and I drove in the Renault convertible on an impromptu photo shoot. It’s been twenty five years since. Another visit now to liquid commingling times. A dappled landscape I look out over a…

Some archaeological notes on futures studies

The Janus Maneuver Hindsight, foresight, and futures studies Everyone, it seems, is a futurist now. Here are some loosely gathered thoughts on why an archaeology of design may be a missing foundation. These are notes – so expect inaccuracies and mistakes of memory (hopefully minor). After Janus – the divine principle of looking both back…