Theme:
5. Theories and methods in archaeology: interactions between disciplines
Session format:
Regular session
Content:
Building on the successful “Forgotten Castle Landscapes” session at the last EAA meeting in Bern, this session focuses on multi-scalar and multi-proxy approaches to the study of landscapes associated with castles – iconic monuments of medieval and post-medieval Europe. The landscape approach moves the focus away from the lifestyles of elite castle communities to encompass a much broader social perspective. We will focus on three themes: What is a castle landscape, how is it studied and why should it be included in heritage management considerations? The fundamental importance of situating castles within their broader landscape context has been recognised in scholarship for several decades, but our understanding of castle territories has been largely defined by written sources relating to property and landuse. Is it also possible to approach this from a material culture or topographic perspective? How does the notion of a castle landscape change with shifting settlement patterns, migration or changes in the ownership and political roles of castles? What are the most effective methodologies for understanding castle landscapes? What role do castles play in the study of medieval settlement or environment? How do we think beyond the monuments themselves to their broader spatial context from a heritage perspective? How is historical knowledge deriving from castle research disseminated and transformed into discourse? The aim of this session is to continue to explore how these key regional monuments can be reconnected with their cultural landscapes, from both research and heritage perspectives. This session is organised as a collaboration between two research projects: “Landscapes of (Re)Conquest”, which is investigating medieval frontier landscapes in south-western Europe; and “All Along the Watchtowers! Balancing Heritage Protection, Development, and Scientific Research on Buried Archaeology at European Castles”, which uses geoarchaeology to inform and drive research agendas and heritage management strategies at castles across Europe.
Keywords:
Castles, Medieval, Landscapes, Heritage, Post Medieval
Session associated with MERC:
yes
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Aleks Pluskowski (United Kingdom) 1
Co-organisers:
Rowena Banerjea (United Kingdom) 1
Guillermo García-Contreras Ruiz (Spain) 2
Maciej Karczewski (Poland) 3
Marcos García García (United Kingdom) 4
Affiliations:
1. Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
2. Departamento de Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas, Universidad de Granada
3. Department of History and International Relations, University of Białystok
4. Department of Archaeology, University of York
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