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Papers by Clifford Sofield
D.Phil. Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012
Placed deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, particularly in prehis... more Placed deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, particularly in prehistoric British archaeology. Although disagreement still exists over the definition, identification, and interpretation of placed deposits, significant advances have been made in theoretical and methodological approaches to placed deposits, as researchers have gradually moved away from relatively crude ‘ritual’ interpretations toward more nuanced considerations of how placed deposits may have related to daily lives, social networks, and settlement structure, as well as worldview. With the exception of comments on specific deposits and a recent preliminary survey, however, Anglo-Saxon placed deposits have remained largely unstudied.This thesis represents the first systematic attempt to identify, characterize, analyse and interpret placed deposits in early to middle Anglo-Saxon settlements (5th–9th centuries). It begins by disentangling the various definitions of ‘placed’, ‘structured’, and ‘special’ deposits and their associated assumptions. Using formation process theory as a basis, it develops a definition of placed deposits as material that has been specially selected, treated, and/or arranged, in contrast with material from similar or surrounding contexts. This definition was applied to develop contextually specific criteria for identifying placed deposits in Anglo-Saxon settlements.Examination of 141 settlements identified a total of 151 placed deposits from 67 settlements. These placed deposits were characterized and analysed for patterns in terms of material composition, context type, location within the settlement, and timing of deposition relative to the use-life of their contexts. Broader geographical and chronological trends have also been considered. In discussing these patterns, anthropological theories of action, agency, practice, and ritualization have been employed in order to begin to understand the roles placed deposits may have had in structuring space and time and expressing social identities in Anglo-Saxon settlements, and to consider how placed deposition may have articulated with Anglo-Saxon worldview and belief systems.</p
H. Bailey, K. Kinsella, and D. Thomas (eds), Architectural Representation in Medieval England, Leeds Studies in English 48, 2017
This article suggests a new approach to interpreting the archaeological remains of Anglo- Saxon b... more This article suggests a new approach to interpreting the archaeological remains of Anglo- Saxon buildings. It explores whether some of the ways people in Anglo-Saxon England formalized the architecture of their buildings, and ritualized their use, may have mirrored the processes they used to construct social identities. Specifically, it discusses the formal use of space in some buildings, especially those with high-status associations, and asks whether the ways in which space was formally organized reveals something about the mechanisms by which communities formed internal and external relationships, and kings constructed royal authority. It presents evidence for ritualized activity associated with the construction or demolition of buildings, and suggests that this evidence not only reveals how ‘lifecycles’ of buildings were perceived, but also how human lifecycles were perceived and constructed. By considering how people shaped buildings, perhaps we can learn how people shaped society.
S. Semple, C. Orsini and S. Mui (eds) Life on the Edge: Social, Religious and Political Frontiers in Early Medieval Europe, Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung 6, Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum with the Internationales Sachsensymposion, 2017
‘Placed’ deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, and researchers have... more ‘Placed’ deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, and researchers have gradually moved away from relatively crude ‘ritual’ interpretations toward more nuanced considerations of how the deliberate deposition of specially selected material may have exercised agency in daily life, social networks and settlement structure. This paper considers the ‘liminal’ agency of placed deposits in early to middle Anglo-Saxon settlements (5th–9th centuries). Although it has frequently been noted that placed deposits often lie at spatial boundaries, this paper focuses on deposits made at ‘liminal times’ in the life of the settlement, especially during the demolition of buildings and the closing of pits. The recognition that certain types of placed deposits were associated with specific liminal times constitutes a starting point for discussing ways in which placed deposits may have mediated rites of passage across temporal boundaries in Anglo-Saxon settlements.
Full citation: C. M. Sofield (2017), Thresholds in the Lives of Settlements: Anglo-Saxon Placed Deposits made at Entrances and 'Liminal Times', in S. Semple, C. Orsini and S. Mui (eds) Life on the Edge: Social, Religious and Political Frontiers in Early Medieval Europe, Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung 6, Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum with the Internationales Sachsensymposion.
Although the communities of Anglo-Saxon England usually buried their dead in separate cemeteries,... more Although the communities of Anglo-Saxon England usually buried their dead in separate cemeteries, a handful of burials have been found in or alongside buildings, settlement ditches, and other domestic features. Such burials have so far escaped systematic study. This article presents a corpus of thirty graves in rural settlement contexts between the fifth and ninth centuries across England. It analyses the demographics, treatment, and pathology of the burials, as well as their spatial associations. Informed by recent approaches to ‘placed’ deposits, it explores why certain individuals might have been selected for burial in domestic contexts, and how living with the dead affected rural communities.
Conferences by Clifford Sofield
Late antique and medieval archaeologists in northwest Europe and Scandinavia have seen a surge in... more Late antique and medieval archaeologists in northwest Europe and Scandinavia have seen a surge in studies on everyday ritual practices, among them deposits intentionally placed underneath door openings, walls and floors of residential or communal structures. By contrast, research of similar deposits in Roman, late antique and medieval/Byzantine archaeology elsewhere is much rarer, though not entirely unknown. Although this difference in frequency may be the result of a real difference in practices, more likely it is due to different research traditions.
The post-Roman West and the Byzantine East are usually considered as two separate fields of scholarship, but much of the archaeological material, especially that pertaining to daily life and found in domestic contexts, in fact is very similar at least in appearance. The aim of the conference is thereby to enhance discussion between specialists of different periods and regions across the artificial borders of the different scholarly disciplines. In interpreting placed deposits, archaeologists in northern and western Europe have appropriated theories and approaches from a wide range of disciplines such as anthropology and sociology. Researchers working in eastern provinces would benefit greatly from adopting—or adapting—theoretical frameworks being established in the West. Likewise, western researchers would profit from the blossoming research on the popular reception of Christianity in eastern provinces and its impact on traditional practices. Indeed, research in the west is often reluctant to talk about either religion or ritual, and with the changes in terminology away from ‘foundation offerings’ and ‘building deposits’ to the broader ‘concealments’, ‘special’ or ‘placed’ deposits, it has become easier to avoid the matter altogether. Yet even within the official Church, both East and West, remarkably similar phenomena have been noted, although research of private practices in ecclesiastical contexts is still in its infancy. The most pervasive practice is undoubtedly the burial of relics underneath the altars of churches and, eventually, the walling in of objects inside church walls. The integration of such practices within official Christianity raises the question of whether domestic deposits should also be considered religious in nature, and to what extent.
This conference intends to overcome existing boundaries by investigating the occurrence of placed deposits, their meaning and relation with contemporaneous worldviews, popular beliefs, and orthodox religion from the fourth to tenth century AD. By inviting scholars from different backgrounds and working on diverse geographical regions and periods in time, we seek to stimulate discussion on the possible different meanings or purposes of placed deposits in order to arrive at a more accurate understanding of the mindset of people in the past.
Speakers to the conference include: Ines Beilke-Voigt, Richard Bradley, Roberta Gilchrist, Sonja Hukantaival, Ine Jacobs, John Ljungkvist, John Mitchell, James Morris, Julia Smith, Clifford Sofield, Natalia Teteriatnikov and Robert Wisniewski.
D.Phil. Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012
Placed deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, particularly in prehis... more Placed deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, particularly in prehistoric British archaeology. Although disagreement still exists over the definition, identification, and interpretation of placed deposits, significant advances have been made in theoretical and methodological approaches to placed deposits, as researchers have gradually moved away from relatively crude ‘ritual’ interpretations toward more nuanced considerations of how placed deposits may have related to daily lives, social networks, and settlement structure, as well as worldview. With the exception of comments on specific deposits and a recent preliminary survey, however, Anglo-Saxon placed deposits have remained largely unstudied.This thesis represents the first systematic attempt to identify, characterize, analyse and interpret placed deposits in early to middle Anglo-Saxon settlements (5th–9th centuries). It begins by disentangling the various definitions of ‘placed’, ‘structured’, and ‘special’ deposits and their associated assumptions. Using formation process theory as a basis, it develops a definition of placed deposits as material that has been specially selected, treated, and/or arranged, in contrast with material from similar or surrounding contexts. This definition was applied to develop contextually specific criteria for identifying placed deposits in Anglo-Saxon settlements.Examination of 141 settlements identified a total of 151 placed deposits from 67 settlements. These placed deposits were characterized and analysed for patterns in terms of material composition, context type, location within the settlement, and timing of deposition relative to the use-life of their contexts. Broader geographical and chronological trends have also been considered. In discussing these patterns, anthropological theories of action, agency, practice, and ritualization have been employed in order to begin to understand the roles placed deposits may have had in structuring space and time and expressing social identities in Anglo-Saxon settlements, and to consider how placed deposition may have articulated with Anglo-Saxon worldview and belief systems.</p
H. Bailey, K. Kinsella, and D. Thomas (eds), Architectural Representation in Medieval England, Leeds Studies in English 48, 2017
This article suggests a new approach to interpreting the archaeological remains of Anglo- Saxon b... more This article suggests a new approach to interpreting the archaeological remains of Anglo- Saxon buildings. It explores whether some of the ways people in Anglo-Saxon England formalized the architecture of their buildings, and ritualized their use, may have mirrored the processes they used to construct social identities. Specifically, it discusses the formal use of space in some buildings, especially those with high-status associations, and asks whether the ways in which space was formally organized reveals something about the mechanisms by which communities formed internal and external relationships, and kings constructed royal authority. It presents evidence for ritualized activity associated with the construction or demolition of buildings, and suggests that this evidence not only reveals how ‘lifecycles’ of buildings were perceived, but also how human lifecycles were perceived and constructed. By considering how people shaped buildings, perhaps we can learn how people shaped society.
S. Semple, C. Orsini and S. Mui (eds) Life on the Edge: Social, Religious and Political Frontiers in Early Medieval Europe, Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung 6, Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum with the Internationales Sachsensymposion, 2017
‘Placed’ deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, and researchers have... more ‘Placed’ deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, and researchers have gradually moved away from relatively crude ‘ritual’ interpretations toward more nuanced considerations of how the deliberate deposition of specially selected material may have exercised agency in daily life, social networks and settlement structure. This paper considers the ‘liminal’ agency of placed deposits in early to middle Anglo-Saxon settlements (5th–9th centuries). Although it has frequently been noted that placed deposits often lie at spatial boundaries, this paper focuses on deposits made at ‘liminal times’ in the life of the settlement, especially during the demolition of buildings and the closing of pits. The recognition that certain types of placed deposits were associated with specific liminal times constitutes a starting point for discussing ways in which placed deposits may have mediated rites of passage across temporal boundaries in Anglo-Saxon settlements.
Full citation: C. M. Sofield (2017), Thresholds in the Lives of Settlements: Anglo-Saxon Placed Deposits made at Entrances and 'Liminal Times', in S. Semple, C. Orsini and S. Mui (eds) Life on the Edge: Social, Religious and Political Frontiers in Early Medieval Europe, Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung 6, Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum with the Internationales Sachsensymposion.
Although the communities of Anglo-Saxon England usually buried their dead in separate cemeteries,... more Although the communities of Anglo-Saxon England usually buried their dead in separate cemeteries, a handful of burials have been found in or alongside buildings, settlement ditches, and other domestic features. Such burials have so far escaped systematic study. This article presents a corpus of thirty graves in rural settlement contexts between the fifth and ninth centuries across England. It analyses the demographics, treatment, and pathology of the burials, as well as their spatial associations. Informed by recent approaches to ‘placed’ deposits, it explores why certain individuals might have been selected for burial in domestic contexts, and how living with the dead affected rural communities.
Late antique and medieval archaeologists in northwest Europe and Scandinavia have seen a surge in... more Late antique and medieval archaeologists in northwest Europe and Scandinavia have seen a surge in studies on everyday ritual practices, among them deposits intentionally placed underneath door openings, walls and floors of residential or communal structures. By contrast, research of similar deposits in Roman, late antique and medieval/Byzantine archaeology elsewhere is much rarer, though not entirely unknown. Although this difference in frequency may be the result of a real difference in practices, more likely it is due to different research traditions.
The post-Roman West and the Byzantine East are usually considered as two separate fields of scholarship, but much of the archaeological material, especially that pertaining to daily life and found in domestic contexts, in fact is very similar at least in appearance. The aim of the conference is thereby to enhance discussion between specialists of different periods and regions across the artificial borders of the different scholarly disciplines. In interpreting placed deposits, archaeologists in northern and western Europe have appropriated theories and approaches from a wide range of disciplines such as anthropology and sociology. Researchers working in eastern provinces would benefit greatly from adopting—or adapting—theoretical frameworks being established in the West. Likewise, western researchers would profit from the blossoming research on the popular reception of Christianity in eastern provinces and its impact on traditional practices. Indeed, research in the west is often reluctant to talk about either religion or ritual, and with the changes in terminology away from ‘foundation offerings’ and ‘building deposits’ to the broader ‘concealments’, ‘special’ or ‘placed’ deposits, it has become easier to avoid the matter altogether. Yet even within the official Church, both East and West, remarkably similar phenomena have been noted, although research of private practices in ecclesiastical contexts is still in its infancy. The most pervasive practice is undoubtedly the burial of relics underneath the altars of churches and, eventually, the walling in of objects inside church walls. The integration of such practices within official Christianity raises the question of whether domestic deposits should also be considered religious in nature, and to what extent.
This conference intends to overcome existing boundaries by investigating the occurrence of placed deposits, their meaning and relation with contemporaneous worldviews, popular beliefs, and orthodox religion from the fourth to tenth century AD. By inviting scholars from different backgrounds and working on diverse geographical regions and periods in time, we seek to stimulate discussion on the possible different meanings or purposes of placed deposits in order to arrive at a more accurate understanding of the mindset of people in the past.
Speakers to the conference include: Ines Beilke-Voigt, Richard Bradley, Roberta Gilchrist, Sonja Hukantaival, Ine Jacobs, John Ljungkvist, John Mitchell, James Morris, Julia Smith, Clifford Sofield, Natalia Teteriatnikov and Robert Wisniewski.