The monuments of Kings Cross: a visit to the new ruins of London

In his 1967 photo essay “The monuments of Passaic” the American land artist Robert Smithson presented a New York suburb as a seedbed of urban entropy. His research methods, publication strategies and reflections on decline provided a touchstone for the generation of cultural mappers that followed. But have theoretical expectations of metropolitan space perhaps shifted? Is it not in the city centre, rather than periphery, that decay is thought to set in? In which case, what forms – material, cultural, political – does it assume? And what, meanwhile, has become of the suburbs? In an inversion of the Passaic essay, this narrative takes the reader, first by train and then on foot in search of new ruins at the heart of a metropolis. The city is London and the destination Kings Cross, the largest building site in Europe and marketed as tomorrow’s neighbourhood of leisure and information. By way of an art practice, and through the lens of an art and architectural history, the paper reports on the site – its structures and objects, as well as the acts and interventions that the Kings Cross marketing machine has failed to sublimate.     

Identity and Place: the testament of designated heritage in Hong Kong

This paper examines the extent to which the identity of Hong Kong as a place, and of the Hong Kong Chinese as people, is expressed by the official heritage locations (the seventy-five Declared Monuments) designated by Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office. The discussion takes account of other heritage initiatives, in particular two recent monuments that commemorate the 1997 Handover of Hong Kong to China. Conclusions are that designated heritage in Hong Kong, more by chance than by deliberate strategy, reflects significant elements of the identities of the Hong Kong people and of Hong Kong as a place. However, more important to the Hong Kong Chinese person's sense of identity than built heritage are the bonds of kin and associated social events.     

柬埔寨吴哥古迹茶胶寺考古工作纪要

2011年以来对柬埔寨吴哥古迹茶胶寺开展了多次考古调查和发掘工作,本文主要对2013年7月底前所取得的阶段性考古成果择其要记述,期待对茶胶寺的研究和保护工作逐步走向深入。     

行李待领:谁拥有香港的考古遗产?

香港曾是英国在东南亚的殖民地.在1997年回归中国前,香港是一个借来的时间和空间.根据香港特别行政区的基本法,回归后的香港保持原有法律和行政架构.在一国两制的原则,中国的文物保护法不适用于香港特区.殖民地时期以前,香港只不过是中国的一个边缘地区.经历150多年的殖民地管治,殖民政府曾于1899年颁行宋王台保存条例,其后...     

A Reconsideration of the Construction Period of the Cruciform Terraces and the Elevated Causeways in the Angkor Monuments,Based on the Magnetic Susceptibility of the Sandstone Blocks*

In this paper, the construction period of the cruciform terraces with columns and the elevated causeways in the Angkor monuments of Cambodia is reconsidered, based on the results of our investigation of magnetic susceptibility and other characteristics of sandstone blocks. From an art‐historical point of view, they are generally considered as modifications in the post‐Bayon style period—the period during the reign of Jayavarman VIII (1243–95 ce ) or later. However, from a lithological point of view, the average magnetic susceptibilities of the sandstone blocks in the cruciform terraces with columns and the elevated causeways are consistent with the rest of the monument. In addition, the characteristics of the sandstone blocks in the cruciform terraces, such as their shape, the orientation of the bedding plane and the stacking method, suggest that they were constructed in the same period as the rest of the monument.     

Spinning Yarns: The Archaeological Evidence for Hand Spinning and its Social Implications,c ad 1200–1500

THIS PAPER EXAMINES the archaeological evidence for hand spinning in medieval Britain from c 1200 to c 1500. Ceramic, stone and baked clay spindle whorls have dominated the excavated finds, but a new corpus of lead-alloy spindle whorls, recorded through the Portable Antiquities Scheme and Scottish Treasure Trove, is presented here. Analysis of the metal whorls’ distribution, manufacture, dating and decoration is provided, illuminating the wide social and economic contexts in which they were used. From memento mori of pious spinners to sexually potent objects representative of lubricious gossips, the ubiquitous spindle whorl was a universal tool that had a powerful agency. The artefacts are small finds embodying daily life but also tie into the wider national economy of the High and Late Middle Ages.     

The medieval to early modern transition in a digital age: new developments relevant to the study of domestic buildings

SUMMARY: Transitions in the archaeological and historical record are difficult to discuss and frequently avoided. The authors briefly outline here how this topic has been studied, particularly in Post-Medieval Archaeology, reviewing differences of approach between European-based archaeologists, who stress continuities with medieval times, and archaeologists in the USA and elsewhere, who commence their studies with the arrival of Europeans. This outline is then used to explore how this earliest formative era of the post-medieval period can be studied via modern digital techniques, using a case study drawing on the study of buildings archaeology to further understanding of the transition. This 50th-anniversary contribution therefore intentionally bridges the old and the new.     

Excavations on the site of Sir Abraham Elton's glassworks,Cheese Lane,Bristol

SUMMARY: This article examines the evidence for engagement with the rural post-medieval landscape using two national case studies: Wales and Scotland. The issues reflected in these case studies are indicative of the wider challenges for archaeologists and professional practitioners alike. The article recognizes that landscape is not just about geographical place, but an archaeological theoretical framework. It proposes that Post-Medieval Archaeology monographs and conference sessions specific to landscape could help to tease out themes that address the big questions of the post-medieval world — capitalism, modernity and improvement — but also take account of agency, identity and meaning.