The Scouring of the White Horse: Archaeology, Identity, and "Heritage"

“Our Ancient Monuments”: Visualizing Documents in Stone

“…The grass was cut so as to reveal architectural footings, and outlines were laid out in gravel or stone to complete the apprehension of the ground plan and thus make the history of the building legible . As one official commented wryly, Peers was all “structure and grass lawns.” Importantly, these practices and their photographic translation also constituted a performance of “upkeep,” the care and attention of monuments with which IAM was charged as its civic and governmental duty (Schwyzer , 57–8; Waterton , 166). Thus, postcards of carefully restored buildings (Figure ), neat grass, and visible architectural and archaeological detail were simultaneously statements of the efficacy of both educative agendas and the expertise of the techno‐state.…”

The Uffington White Horse geoglyph as sun-horse

“…That the Uffington geoglyph remains a visible feature with fidelity to its original form is highly remarkable and entirely due to regular maintenance or ‘scouring’ (Barclay et al 2003a: 245). Historical records from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries document scouring events at intervals of between 4 and 21 years; and “the conclusion seems inescapable that the horse has been scoured at least once every generation for almost three millennia, if not more” (Schwyzer 1999: 42). Against this repetition of practice—an almost institutionalised process of incorporated memory-work (Connerton 1989)—is the loss at some point in its history of its original role as a sun-horse.…”

“…Against this repetition of practice—an almost institutionalised process of incorporated memory-work (Connerton 1989)—is the loss at some point in its history of its original role as a sun-horse. Certainly since its first documentary reference in the Abingdon cartularies and appearance on a list of the Wonders of Britain of the later eleventh century AD (Cromarty et al 2003: 16), it has been the “site of shifting and contested meanings” (Schwyzer 1999: 42).…”

El “espejo patrimonial”. ¿Ilusión narcisista o reflexiones múltiples?

“…Lo que surgió de este estudio, y de otros realizados por Schwyzer (1999) y Waterton (2009Waterton ( , 2010b, es que la identidad inglesa está particularmente ligada a un sentido de orgullo y conexión con el pasado. De hecho, la preservación de lugares de mérito histórico, patrimonio, a menudo es presentada como una preocupación particularmente inglesa (Schwyzer, 1999;Smith, 2006: 132-3;Waterton, 2010b: 166).…”