'A most curious class of small cairn' : reinterpreting the burnt mounds of Shetland
This research is concerned with the critical reinterpretation of the burnt mounds of Shetland. Burnt mounds have been described as âamong the most boring sites with which a field archaeologist must dealâ (Barber & Russel-White 1990:59). Traditionally burnt mound studies have been dominated by concerns relating to technology, form and function. This approach is understood to be a product of modernist understanding of the world which views technologies as primarily adaptive. As such, it is argued that a critical reappraisal of the frameworks through which burnt mounds are interpreted is required in order to develop an account of their construction and use which situates them within wider disciplinary discourses concerning the Bronze Age. In order to do so this thesis evaluates a range of theoretical frameworks which have explored the emergent and situated nature of encounters between people, places and things. Drawing upon this, a new approach is advocated that examines the relationship between burnt mounds and their wider landscape, and explores the material and social engagements which their construction and use affords. In order to offer a more holistic approach in keeping with current archaeological
Doughton, Lauren
Bronze Age ; Shetland ; Archaeology ; Burnt Mound ; Transformation ; Elements
'A most curious class of small cairn' : reinterpreting the burnt mounds of Shetland. This research is concerned with the critical reinterpretation of the burnt mounds of Shetland. Burnt mounds have been described as âamong the most boring sites with which a field archaeologist must dealâ (Barber & Russel-White 1990:59). Traditionally burnt mound studies have been dominated by concerns relating to technology, form and function. This approach is understood to be a product of modernist understanding of the world which views technologies as primarily adaptive. As such, it is argued that a critical reappraisal of the frameworks through which burnt mounds are interpreted is required in order to develop an account of their construction and use which situates them within wider disciplinary discourses concerning the Bronze Age. In order to do so this thesis evaluates a range of theoretical frameworks which have explored the emergent and situated nature of encounters between people, places and things. Drawing upon this, a new approach is advocated that examines the relationship between burnt mounds and their wider landscape, and explores the material and social engagements which their construction and use affords. In order to offer a more holistic approach in keeping with current archaeological
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