Research in digital archaeology, heritage, and marginalia
Archaeological Site Formation
"When turf rooves collapse.......they do so inside the building and before the walls. This explains why a typical sequence might have collapse from the walls sealing more indistinct collapse (roof)- and all kinds of humic / woody stuff beneath that (roof structure)."
Many (okay, most!) of the archaeologist-photographers that I know like to take photos of buildings in various states of disrepair. I think it’s probably a requirement of the profession, right? Anyway, Dave (whom I met this weekend in Copenhagen) uses this love of decay as an opportunity to talk about archaeological site formation. How completely logical and brilliant at the same time! Anyway, I encourage you to check out his new group on Flickr, Archaeology: Site formation or when buildings fall down, and perhaps spend a bit of time describing your artfully framed photos.
In the meantime, don’t forget about Archaeology in Action, the Flickr group dedicated to showcasing archaeological fieldwork from around the world.
Early morning, ice in the pit... Skålbunes, Nordland
Dr. Colleen Morgan (ORCID 0000-0001-6907-5535) is the Lecturer in Digital Archaeology and Heritage in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York. She conducts research on digital media and archaeology, with a special focus on embodiment, avatars, genetics and bioarchaeology. She is interested in building archaeological narratives with emerging technology, including photography, video, mobile and locative devices. Through archaeological making she explores past lifeways and our current understanding of heritage, especially regarding issues of authority, authenticity, and identity.
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3 thoughts on “Archaeological Site Formation”
Nice post, very important thinking.
What is also interesting is why roofs collapse in the first place.
The mass of the roof will tend to push the walls outwards, (‘Thrust’). In many cases, outward movement in part of the supporting walls initiates the collapse, and evidence of this can be seen in some of the photos, ( & above – on the right?).
ya, dave is doing some great stuff. that’s a really good use of photography for archaeological purposes. i agree with you–definitely logical AND brilliant. when it comes to site formation, i think it makes perfect sense to pay close attention to the decay that is happening all around us on a daily basis.
In contrast with turf rooves, wattle & daub wall sections exposed to fire seem (anecdotally) to fall uniformly outwards away from a structure. This struck me before and has just been underlined in the work of a masters student I’m supervising. My suspicion is that it’s to do with the dehydration and loss of weight focused on the interior faces, causing them to topple towards the heavier face as the wattle framework is compromised.
This at least is true of internal compartment fires – it would be really interesting to compare this observation with exterior burning against similar walls…..
Colleen Morgan 
Nice post, very important thinking.
What is also interesting is why roofs collapse in the first place.
The mass of the roof will tend to push the walls outwards, (‘Thrust’). In many cases, outward movement in part of the supporting walls initiates the collapse, and evidence of this can be seen in some of the photos, ( & above – on the right?).
ya, dave is doing some great stuff. that’s a really good use of photography for archaeological purposes. i agree with you–definitely logical AND brilliant. when it comes to site formation, i think it makes perfect sense to pay close attention to the decay that is happening all around us on a daily basis.
In contrast with turf rooves, wattle & daub wall sections exposed to fire seem (anecdotally) to fall uniformly outwards away from a structure. This struck me before and has just been underlined in the work of a masters student I’m supervising. My suspicion is that it’s to do with the dehydration and loss of weight focused on the interior faces, causing them to topple towards the heavier face as the wattle framework is compromised.
This at least is true of internal compartment fires – it would be really interesting to compare this observation with exterior burning against similar walls…..