A Spanish Man‐o‐War in New Zealand? The 1864 wreck of Grafton and its lessons for pre‐Cook shipwreck claims

This paper considers the 1864 wreck of Grafton in the Auckland Islands, and its implications for wreck analysis and pre‐Cook exploration claims. The captain of Grafton, Thomas Musgrave, stated that the schooner was built from the wreck of a Spanish man‐o‐war, and archaeological analysis of the wreck found that the timbers are a tropical South American species, and had possibly been reused. The implications of this are clear; it is possible that timbers that originated in pre‐Cook (1769) ships lie in New Zealand, but without a full understanding of the historical and archaeological context of any such timbers, including their reuse in later ships, it is not possible to claim proof of pre‐Cook European exploration of New Zealand.     

Rescue excavation of a third‐millennium BC tomb at Al‐Khubayb,Sultanate of Oman

A third‐millennium BC tomb was subject to a rescue excavation in connection with the construction of a new road near the village of Al‐Khubayb in the Sultanate of Oman. It yielded a small number of finds, especially small metal objects that belonged to a later reuse of the tomb in the Samad period. As all diagnostic finds from the tomb date to the reuse, its architectural elements were the only indicator for the construction date of the tomb. Besides its small size and large wall thickness, which might suggest that the tomb is a transitional type between the Hafit and the Umm an‐Nar periods, its separation into two chambers and its facade made of white, dressed stones, can be seen as a clue for a construction date of the tomb in the Umm an‐Nar period.     

Rethinking architectural heritage conservation in post-disaster context

This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of architectural heritage and its conservation in a post-disaster context by taking into account the interrelationship of form and function. To do this I borrow from the work of Laurajane Smith who argues that heritage is a cultural process linked to activities of remembering and identity formation. This definition requires us to move beyond the idea that heritage is merely tangible and asks us to acknowledge the importance of uses of material culture. Thus, I argue that the relationship between form and function should be central in understanding architectural heritage. The paper examines these issues with particular reference to examples from Banda Aceh post the 2004 Tsunami Disaster and, to do this, borrows some methods from architectural anthropology. The paper argues that the traditional architectural conservation practices, including adaptive reuse, that stress the importance of building forms should be expanded. Thus, the paper offers the idea of adaptive re-form or redesign where function is privileged to the extent that material form may be altered to accommodate the resurrection of traditional uses. This is practically important in post-disaster contexts and Southeast Asian cultural contexts, where materiality is viewed as impermanent.     

Antiquity at the National Memorial Arboretum

The paper explores the use of ancient and historic material cultures and architectures within the recent resurgence in public commemoration in the UK. Using the case study of the National Memorial Arboretum (Staffordshire), the study focuses on how ancient designs (including prehistoric, classical and medieval styles and forms) interleave with the arboreal, geological and celestial themes of the memorial gardens. Together these designs serve to create a multitude of temporal poises by which auras of commemorative perpetuity and regeneration are projected and sustained. The paper proposes that archaeologists can bring their expertise to bear on the investigation of the complex, varied allusions to the past within contemporary landscapes of memory.     

From Battleship to Breakwater: post‐military adaptive reuse of the Australian warship Protector

The light cruiser Protector, built 1884, served as an Australian naval asset for 40 years. Decommissioned from the Royal Australian Navy in 1924, it was subsequently converted into a lighter. The vessel re‐entered military service during the Second World War, but was involved in a collision, condemned, and ultimately installed as a breakwater on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. While much of Protector's military career is well documented, little is known of its conversion and adaptation to civilian roles. What follows is a discussion of efforts to archaeologically document Protector's surviving hull and identify signatures of adaptive reuse indicative of its post‐military career.     

Shoddy heap: a material history between waste and manufacture

This essay uses a present-day mountain of textile waste known as ‘shoddy’ as an entry point into the history and ramifications of the development of wool recycling technology in West Yorkshire, England. It is argued that this entity, produced since the early nineteenth century by means of the collection, shredding, and re-spinning of old and discarded wool rags, emerged as both technological innovation and raw material. Its history, defined in part by its precarious position at the nexus of waste and manufacture, is that of a reconfiguration of technology with simultaneously ethical, political, and environmental dimensions.     

Book Reviews

Heritage is important for the social and cultural health of communities, whilst local stewardship of cultural heritage has the capacity to empower and recover cultural identity. This paper describes a recent project in Lakhnu – a small rural village in Uttar Pradesh, India – to restore a nineteenth century villa formerly used as the village school as an educational facility. In this discussion, we draw attention to the right of groups to manage their culture. The loss of cultural heritage is linked to a loss of identity. We argue that heritage projects have the capacity to empower communities to sustain their heritage and identity and provide useful places for social and material advancement through the concept of a shared ‘symbolic estate’. At Lakhnu, we plan to evoke grass-root conservation where local communities become the rightful stakeholders and decision-makers who are encouraged and facilitated in the realisation of their right to cultural heritage and to stimulate growth and build capacity for the community.     

建构主义视角下工业遗产的功能置换和意义诠释——广州红专厂的案例研究

从建构主义的角度,研究广州红专厂的空间功能置换和游客感知,空间功能的置换具体表现为物质载体工业建筑和机器设备的外观改造及用途变化,而游客感知则通过分析游客对工业遗产空间的感知情况,探讨空间置换后产生和传达出的意义。通过比较这些意义与工业遗产价值的关系,可以更好的理解工业遗产空间的消费主义改造方式,也可以更好的理解创意产业空间所体现的当今社会对工业遗产的态度。研究发现,游客将红专厂理解为一个文化艺术和休闲消费的场所,而不是工业文明的记忆空间。红专厂工业空间的创意产业园式改造,传递出的已经不是工业文化的内涵,而是新的消费意义,实际上是工业文化向消费文化转变的过程。这种再利用方式与真正意义上的工业遗产保护是有所偏离的。     

Architectural Aesthetics,Orientations, and Reuse at the Terminal Classic Maya Site of Ucanal,Petén,Guatemala

ABSTRACT

The Terminal Classic period (ca. a.d. 830–950/1000) in the Southern Maya Lowlands is known as a time in which investments in public architecture and vaulted masonry buildings began to wane. Masonry constructions have often been noted to be of poorer quality in comparison with previous phases. Moving beyond models of scarcity, this paper examines the aesthetics, meanings, and reorientations of architectural projects at the site of Ucanal, Petén, Guatemala during the Terminal Classic period. We highlight three processes that were central to the new architectural programs at the site: an emphasis on the aesthetics of wood, the reorientation of sacred space in residential contexts, and the fragmentation and reuse of buildings and monuments. Although these materials and processes are often associated with a loss of splendor, we suggest that they were part of an active architectural revisionism, one that remade history by reworking the old and reorienting the new.     

Maiensäss – Swiss Alpine summer farms – an element of cultural heritage between conservation and further development: a qualitative case study

Farm buildings that have become redundant due to agricultural change often find themselves in an area of conflict between conservation and further development. The Swiss Maiensäss, Alpine farms traditionally used at the intermediate altitude from spring to fall, are a prominent example of such a landscape element. The qualitative case study on which this paper is based focuses on different users’ perceptions of the Maiensäss and their development. Our results show that the Maiensäss are a particularly lively element in Swiss cultural heritage. These small farms are often reused and thus have to satisfy the needs of different resident and non‐resident users. Users attribute a multitude of meanings to the Maiensäss referring to both their present and past functions. For non‐residents the Maiensäss are mainly a symbol of shared roots and national identity which should be protected, whereas for residents they stand stands for the continuity of their local culture and creative possibilities. The main challenge regarding the management of redundant farm buildings seems to be to strike a balance between conservation and creative reuse. The recently introduced building regulations for these farms allow some scope for creative innovation and appear to be well accepted by users. This successful regulation measure might serve as a precursor for managing the development of other traditional landscapes.