The penny’s dropped: Renegotiating the contemporary coin deposit

Houlbrook, Ceri

doi:10.1177/1359183515577120

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…That the love-lock is a structured deposit – in that it is deposited via formalized repetitive actions – cannot be questioned, and yet its value within contemporary archaeology has yet to be explored. Following on from my assertion in a previous article that more archaeological attention should be given to the ‘wealth of information contemporary deposits can proffer’ (Houlbrook, 2015a: 187), I hope to redress this oversight.…”

Section: Introducing the Love-lockmentioning

confidence: 92%

Lessons from love-locks: The archaeology of the contemporary assemblage

Houlbrook

2017

Journal of Material Culture

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Loss of context is a challenge, if not the bane, of the ritual archaeologist's craft. Those who research ritual frequently encounter difficulties in the interpretation of its often tantalizingly incomplete material record. Careful analysis of material remains may afford us glimpses into past ritual activity, but our often vast chronological separation from the ritual practitioners themselves prevent us from seeing the whole picture. The archaeologist engaging with structured deposits, for instance, is often forced to study ritual assemblages post-accumulation. Many nuances of its formation, therefore, may be lost in interpretation. This article considers what insights an archaeologist could gain into the place, people, pace and purpose of deposition by recording an accumulation of structured deposits during its formation, rather than after. To answer this, the article focuses on a contemporary depositional practice: the love-lock. This custom involves the inscribing of names/initials onto a padlock, its attachment to a bridge or other public structure, and the deposition of the corresponding key into the water below; a ritual often enacted by a couple as a statement of their romantic commitment. Drawing on empirical data from a three-year diachronic site-specific investigation into a love-lock bridge in Manchester, UK, the author demonstrates the value of contemporary archaeology in engaging with the often enigmatic material culture of ritual accumulations.

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Section: Introducing the Love-lockmentioning

confidence: 92%

Lessons from love-locks: The archaeology of the contemporary assemblage

Houlbrook

2017

Journal of Material Culture

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“…People may well also leave or lose things in the snow that reappear as rubbish around this site in summertime. On the other hand, the distinction between ritual objects or offerings and litter can be fluid, and what appears as rubbish to one person might have ritual value to another (Finn 1997;Houlbrook 2015; Hukantaival in press).…”

Section: Effects Of the Different Usesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sacred Nature. Diverging Use and Understanding of Old Sámi Offering Sites in Alta, Northern Norway

Spangen

Äikäs

2020

Religions

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This study focuses on the contemporary use of two well-known Sámi offering sites in Alta, Finnmark, Norway. Today, these are hiking destinations and sightseeing points for both the Sámi and the non-Sámi local population, as well as a few non-local visitors. Many of these visitors leave objects at the sites, such as parts of recently slaughtered reindeer, clothing, coins, toys, sweet wrappers and toilet paper. This indicates that visitors have different levels of knowledge about and reverence for the traditional significance of these places. Through repeated surveys over several years, we also observed a certain development and change in the number and character of these depositions, as well as a variation in depositions between different sites. A series of interviews with various users and key stakeholders were performed to clarify the reasons for these changing practices, as well as what individuals and groups visit these sites, their motivation for doing so and for leaving specific objects, and what potential conflict of interest there is between different users. Furthermore, we surveyed what information has been available to the public about these sites and their significance in Sámi religion and cultural history over time. The results show that a diverse group of individuals visit the sites for a variety of reasons, and that there are contrasting views on their use, even among different Sámi stakeholders. While it is difficult to limit the knowledge and use of these places because they are already well known, more information about old Sámi ritual practices and appropriate behaviour at such sites may mediate latent conflicts and promote a better understanding of the importance of offering sites in both past and present Sámi societies.

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“…We arrived at the Riley Graves where the Hancock family are buried, another key location on the heritage map of Eyam (Figure 3) [INSERT FIGURE 3 HERE]. The sign tells how "visitors are the coins entering the water is a familiar one (Houlbrook 2015). Yet the depth of the resonance, the timbre and the qualities of the sound as the coins loudly 'plop' into the water, evoked a sense of profundity and imaginatively traced a sense of the sheer distance between the now and then.…”

Section: Landscape Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resounding the landscape: the sonic impress of and the story of Eyam, plague village

Holloway

2017

Landscape Research

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There is continuing debate as to how many villagers survived due to the enforced quarantine, but it is likely that the spread of the disease was restricted (during the quarantine only two people are reported to have left and one man entered). Indeed, with limited surviving evidence there is also debate concerning how many died, with figures ranging from 259 to 276 (although this includes deaths from other causes). Yet the human cost was considerable with many families being all but wiped out by the plague. For example, a Mrs Hancock who lived at the edge of the village, buried her husband and six children in a location known as the Riley Graves; and Catherine Mompesson, the rector's wife, succumbed to the disease in August 1666

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The penny’s dropped: Renegotiating the contemporary coin deposit

Cited by 6 publications

References 16 publications

Lessons from love-locks: The archaeology of the contemporary assemblage

Lessons from love-locks: The archaeology of the contemporary assemblage

Sacred Nature. Diverging Use and Understanding of Old Sámi Offering Sites in Alta, Northern Norway

Resounding the landscape: the sonic impress of and the story of Eyam, plague village

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