Archaeology & Phenomenology

[Dathi]

Greetings,

I was interested in watching this "Time Team" programme: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/time ... od#3376600

This particular episode studies the Dorset Ridgeway (Kate & Corwen's turf) and the Time Team are introduced to the archaeological technique of phenomenology. As I understand it, this is all about using the context of the landscape, looking around, and using an active imagination / visualisation coupled with common-sense, to gain a better understanding of historical sites.

As an enthusiastic amateur antiquarian, it dawns on me that this is exactly what I've been doing in visiting ancient sites. Walking the land, sitting and musing, meditating on a sacred site etc. It all has scientific legitimacy, and a big fancy name!!!! And even critical academic papers: http://lepo.it.da.ut.ee/~cect/teoreetil ... ng2006.pdf

The toolkit offered by our Druidry just gets more mainstream all the time!!!!

Yours Aye,

Dathi

[DaRC]

Ahh I watched the same programme and had the same thoughts as you It's what I understand from my years of mountain biking the South Downs; you have to travel the landscape to understand it.

Mind you there are always new things to discover; just recently I came across one of the ancient the burial grounds (Sullington Warren - an amphitheatre of Round Barrows) of the people that lived here in the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age. It provided more context to the relationship to the local temple (Chanctonbury) and hill fort (Cissbury).

The program has also inspired me to ride that leg of the Ridgeway - I'd already ridden from the Chilterns to Avebury over Lughnasadh 2003 - especially as my fathers family come from that part of the world.

[Whitemane]

Oddly, James Watt once told his son off for surveying the landscape with a theodolite when building a rail line rather than looking at it and trying to develop an understanding.

Maybe that skill is not completely lost, and can be recovered, especially if a father of the Industrial Revolution used it.