In aspiring to investigate diverse industrial and technological collections the Congruence Engine... more In aspiring to investigate diverse industrial and technological collections the Congruence Engine project highlights the fragmentation and loss of knowledge that often occurs when an industry or an individual workplace closes, or when a technology becomes obsolescent or redundant. Until relatively recently (often due to narrow institutional responsibilities and collecting policies) the heritage sector has had little ability to secure a holistic understanding of workplaces and the interconnectedness of people, places, technology, objects and their associated records. The Historic England Archive,[1] which is essentially a place-based collection, may be unfamiliar to many in the museum sector and academia. This paper introduces its archive collections that relate to industry and technology, describes their evolution through past recording and collecting policies and discusses how they might be used to further a deeper contextualisation of museum objects. A case study of recent work at the Science Museum to secure the historical legacy of postwar power stations follows. It describes the processes and challenges involved in collecting large industrial heritage objects and illustrates how closer working relationships between heritage institutions might ensure that a more rounded response is made to the loss of obsolescent industries, plant and technologies.[2] Component
Plastic pollution has reached a crisis point due to ineffective waste management, an over-relianc... more Plastic pollution has reached a crisis point due to ineffective waste management, an over-reliance on single-use plastic items and a lack of suitable plastic alternatives. The COVID-19 Pandemic has seen a dramatic increase in the use of single-use plastics including ‘COVID waste’ in the form of items specifically intended to help stop the spread of disease. Many governments have utilised COVID-19 as a window of opportunity to reverse, postpone or remove plastic policies off agendas ostensibly in order to ‘flatten the curve’ of COVID-19 cases. In this paper, we use novel methods of social media analysis relating to three regions (USA, Mexico and Australia) to suggest that health and hygiene were not the only reasons governments utilised this window of opportunity to change plastic policies. Beyond the influence of social media on the plastics agenda, our results highlight the potential of social media as a tool to analyse public reactions to government decisions that can be influence...
Since at least the 1990s, archaeologists and artists have been documenting military installations... more Since at least the 1990s, archaeologists and artists have been documenting military installations following the withdrawal of service personnel. They have usually embarked on these recording opportunities separately, experiencing these sites as derelict, lifeless places, with stripped buildings devoid of much of their meaning after their occupants have left. Archaeologists have typically created maps and made photographs. Artists have also taken photographs, but in addition made films and created soundworks. Wherever the medium and the motivation, the assumption is usually made that only those closely familiar with the rhythms and rituals of service life can begin to understand the emptiness of what remains. And being secretive military installations, creating a record during their occupation is never an option. Uniquely, in the months leading to the closure of RAF Coltishall (Norfolk) in 2006, the RAF granted the authors unprecedented access to record the base's drawdown and cl...
The sound of a 3,000 year old mummified individual has been accurately reproduced as a vowel-like... more The sound of a 3,000 year old mummified individual has been accurately reproduced as a vowel-like sound based on measurements of the precise dimensions of his extant vocal tract following Computed Tomography (CT) scanning, enabling the creation of a 3-D printed vocal tract. By using the Vocal Tract Organ, which provides a user-controllable artificial larynx sound source, a vowel sound is synthesised which compares favourably with vowels of modern individuals.
The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a viral archive—an archaeological record of history in the maki... more The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a viral archive—an archaeological record of history in the making. One aspect of this archive is increased environmental pollution, not least through the discarded facemasks and gloves that characterise the pandemic. This article—directed specifically at archaeologists—argues that an archaeological perspective on ‘COVID waste’ using social media analysis can help to highlight environmental pollution, and that by giving this waste the status of archaeological material and working with other disciplines, archaeologists can contribute to sustainable, policy-led solutions to combat environmental pollution.
This position statement summarises the discussion that took place as part of the AHRC research ne... more This position statement summarises the discussion that took place as part of the AHRC research networking project “Nuclear Cultural Heritage: From Knowledge to Practice” in Thurso, Scotland, 12 September 2019. This project explores the emerging field of nuclear cultural heritage. It aims to establish links between national and international nuclear cultural heritage researchers, the heritage sector and the nuclear sector. The P.I. and director of the project is Dr Egle Rindzeviciute, Associate Professor of Sociology at Kingston University London, UK. The opinions expressed in the document are not necessarily those of the authors’ employers. Contributors: Sam Alberti, National Museums Scotland Will Bell, Sellafield Ltd Robert Bud, Science Museum London Ele Carpenter, Goldsmiths, University of London Oliver Carpenter, Science Museum London Wayne Cocroft, Historic England Frank Dittman, Deutsches Museum Philip Greatorex, Sellafield Ltd James Gunn, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd Rodney H...
... Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10068/580184. ... more ... Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10068/580184. Title: Cold war Building for nuclear confrontation 1946-1989. Authors: Cocroft, Wayne Thomas, Roger JC Barnwell, PS (Ed.) English Heritage (United Kingdom). Issue Date: 2003. ...
The Archaeology of Urban Landscapes Explorations in Shunhind This exciting collection on a new mo... more The Archaeology of Urban Landscapes Explorations in Shunhind This exciting collection on a new movement in urban archaeology investigates the history of urban slums. The stuff that is dug up - broken kitchen china, glass grog bottles, and innumerable tonnes of building ...
ABSTRACT For as long as there has been country music, Nashville has been its spiritual if not act... more ABSTRACT For as long as there has been country music, Nashville has been its spiritual if not actual home. This city of recording studios, rehearsal spaces, music shops and venues is one of a small number of cities associated with a specific music genre and the creative cultures and attention this inevitably attracts. But just as heritage is never fixed and always becoming, Nashville - and the perception of Nashville - is changing, to the point where it may no longer have the primacy it once held. In a globalised music industry where not all country music is from Nashville, nor even the United States, new ‘Nashvilles’ emerge and grow, commensurate with actual or relative decline in the prominence of the original. This might be considered a heritage dilemma (heritage ‘at risk’, and a challenge to traditional views on authenticity), but equally the argument can be made for a new heritage replacing or augmenting the old. By considering the city’s ‘at risk’ status, and assessing the fictional representation of a reimagined Nashville in the Scottish city of Glasgow in the 2018 film Wild Rose, we explore this dilemma, and its challenge to heritage convention.
In aspiring to investigate diverse industrial and technological collections the Congruence Engine... more In aspiring to investigate diverse industrial and technological collections the Congruence Engine project highlights the fragmentation and loss of knowledge that often occurs when an industry or an individual workplace closes, or when a technology becomes obsolescent or redundant. Until relatively recently (often due to narrow institutional responsibilities and collecting policies) the heritage sector has had little ability to secure a holistic understanding of workplaces and the interconnectedness of people, places, technology, objects and their associated records. The Historic England Archive,[1] which is essentially a place-based collection, may be unfamiliar to many in the museum sector and academia. This paper introduces its archive collections that relate to industry and technology, describes their evolution through past recording and collecting policies and discusses how they might be used to further a deeper contextualisation of museum objects. A case study of recent work at the Science Museum to secure the historical legacy of postwar power stations follows. It describes the processes and challenges involved in collecting large industrial heritage objects and illustrates how closer working relationships between heritage institutions might ensure that a more rounded response is made to the loss of obsolescent industries, plant and technologies.[2] Component
Plastic pollution has reached a crisis point due to ineffective waste management, an over-relianc... more Plastic pollution has reached a crisis point due to ineffective waste management, an over-reliance on single-use plastic items and a lack of suitable plastic alternatives. The COVID-19 Pandemic has seen a dramatic increase in the use of single-use plastics including ‘COVID waste’ in the form of items specifically intended to help stop the spread of disease. Many governments have utilised COVID-19 as a window of opportunity to reverse, postpone or remove plastic policies off agendas ostensibly in order to ‘flatten the curve’ of COVID-19 cases. In this paper, we use novel methods of social media analysis relating to three regions (USA, Mexico and Australia) to suggest that health and hygiene were not the only reasons governments utilised this window of opportunity to change plastic policies. Beyond the influence of social media on the plastics agenda, our results highlight the potential of social media as a tool to analyse public reactions to government decisions that can be influence...
Since at least the 1990s, archaeologists and artists have been documenting military installations... more Since at least the 1990s, archaeologists and artists have been documenting military installations following the withdrawal of service personnel. They have usually embarked on these recording opportunities separately, experiencing these sites as derelict, lifeless places, with stripped buildings devoid of much of their meaning after their occupants have left. Archaeologists have typically created maps and made photographs. Artists have also taken photographs, but in addition made films and created soundworks. Wherever the medium and the motivation, the assumption is usually made that only those closely familiar with the rhythms and rituals of service life can begin to understand the emptiness of what remains. And being secretive military installations, creating a record during their occupation is never an option. Uniquely, in the months leading to the closure of RAF Coltishall (Norfolk) in 2006, the RAF granted the authors unprecedented access to record the base's drawdown and cl...
The sound of a 3,000 year old mummified individual has been accurately reproduced as a vowel-like... more The sound of a 3,000 year old mummified individual has been accurately reproduced as a vowel-like sound based on measurements of the precise dimensions of his extant vocal tract following Computed Tomography (CT) scanning, enabling the creation of a 3-D printed vocal tract. By using the Vocal Tract Organ, which provides a user-controllable artificial larynx sound source, a vowel sound is synthesised which compares favourably with vowels of modern individuals.
The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a viral archive—an archaeological record of history in the maki... more The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a viral archive—an archaeological record of history in the making. One aspect of this archive is increased environmental pollution, not least through the discarded facemasks and gloves that characterise the pandemic. This article—directed specifically at archaeologists—argues that an archaeological perspective on ‘COVID waste’ using social media analysis can help to highlight environmental pollution, and that by giving this waste the status of archaeological material and working with other disciplines, archaeologists can contribute to sustainable, policy-led solutions to combat environmental pollution.
This position statement summarises the discussion that took place as part of the AHRC research ne... more This position statement summarises the discussion that took place as part of the AHRC research networking project “Nuclear Cultural Heritage: From Knowledge to Practice” in Thurso, Scotland, 12 September 2019. This project explores the emerging field of nuclear cultural heritage. It aims to establish links between national and international nuclear cultural heritage researchers, the heritage sector and the nuclear sector. The P.I. and director of the project is Dr Egle Rindzeviciute, Associate Professor of Sociology at Kingston University London, UK. The opinions expressed in the document are not necessarily those of the authors’ employers. Contributors: Sam Alberti, National Museums Scotland Will Bell, Sellafield Ltd Robert Bud, Science Museum London Ele Carpenter, Goldsmiths, University of London Oliver Carpenter, Science Museum London Wayne Cocroft, Historic England Frank Dittman, Deutsches Museum Philip Greatorex, Sellafield Ltd James Gunn, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd Rodney H...
... Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10068/580184. ... more ... Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10068/580184. Title: Cold war Building for nuclear confrontation 1946-1989. Authors: Cocroft, Wayne Thomas, Roger JC Barnwell, PS (Ed.) English Heritage (United Kingdom). Issue Date: 2003. ...
The Archaeology of Urban Landscapes Explorations in Shunhind This exciting collection on a new mo... more The Archaeology of Urban Landscapes Explorations in Shunhind This exciting collection on a new movement in urban archaeology investigates the history of urban slums. The stuff that is dug up - broken kitchen china, glass grog bottles, and innumerable tonnes of building ...
ABSTRACT For as long as there has been country music, Nashville has been its spiritual if not act... more ABSTRACT For as long as there has been country music, Nashville has been its spiritual if not actual home. This city of recording studios, rehearsal spaces, music shops and venues is one of a small number of cities associated with a specific music genre and the creative cultures and attention this inevitably attracts. But just as heritage is never fixed and always becoming, Nashville - and the perception of Nashville - is changing, to the point where it may no longer have the primacy it once held. In a globalised music industry where not all country music is from Nashville, nor even the United States, new ‘Nashvilles’ emerge and grow, commensurate with actual or relative decline in the prominence of the original. This might be considered a heritage dilemma (heritage ‘at risk’, and a challenge to traditional views on authenticity), but equally the argument can be made for a new heritage replacing or augmenting the old. By considering the city’s ‘at risk’ status, and assessing the fictional representation of a reimagined Nashville in the Scottish city of Glasgow in the 2018 film Wild Rose, we explore this dilemma, and its challenge to heritage convention.
EAA 2013 Pilsen FWW Poster:
The Legacies of the Home Front project was set up by the Universit... more EAA 2013 Pilsen FWW Poster:
The Legacies of the Home Front project was set up by the University of Bristol and the University of York with funding from English Heritage and was completed in April 2013. The aim was to examine and document remains of the First World War by engaging local volunteers to research and document sites in two pilot areas: the Lea Valley in NE London and the county of Staffordshire. Primarily this project was designed to document any military or civilian wartime remains built or modified as a direct result of the country being at war. However, evidence was also recorded for destroyed structures and events, such as bombing locations, peace parties or riots. The recording done by the volunteers was fed into a database and the results tested to populate a web-atlas with clickable sites as a mechanism for people to engage with the FWW Home Front landscape. The pilot was also intended to inform a future national public archaeology project which would engage with existing local research groups to record evidence of that conflict in their own localities. This poster will document this pilot project by exhibiting the methodologies developed, the results and outline plans for the future.
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The Legacies of the Home Front project was set up by the University of Bristol and the University of York with funding from English Heritage and was completed in April 2013. The aim was to examine and document remains of the First World War by engaging local volunteers to research and document sites in two pilot areas: the Lea Valley in NE London and the county of Staffordshire. Primarily this project was designed to document any military or civilian wartime remains built or modified as a direct result of the country being at war. However, evidence was also recorded for destroyed structures and events, such as bombing locations, peace parties or riots. The recording done by the volunteers was fed into a database and the results tested to populate a web-atlas with clickable sites as a mechanism for people to engage with the FWW Home Front landscape. The pilot was also intended to inform a future national public archaeology project which would engage with existing local research groups to record evidence of that conflict in their own localities. This poster will document this pilot project by exhibiting the methodologies developed, the results and outline plans for the future.