Material culture

Material culture lies at the heart of our research at all scales, from the individual artefact to entire landscapes and from early prehistory to recent times. While fieldwork and scientific analyses of objects are prominent in and fundamental to our research, we look well beyond our excavations and labs to understand not only how material culture is deposited and recovered but also how meanings are attributed and reshaped. 

We have an MLitt in Material Culture and Artefact Studies, and a research group entitled Creating Material Worlds: Theorising Identity in Archaeology. 

A range of projects demonstrate this expertise:

• Colonsay Midden Project
• Early Medieval imported pottery and glass in the Atlantic province
• The Mycenaeans and Italy: the archaeological and archaeometric ceramic evidence
• Towards non-destructive analysis in archaeological and conservation science