The curatorial consequences of being moved, moveable or portable: the case of carved stones (original) (raw)
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Where the Value Lies: the importance of materiality to the immaterial aspects of heritage
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Archaeology & Neoliberalism, 2013
Few areas have been more thoroughly explored than that whose borders are delimited by the notions of museum, heritage, technology and market. So it never ceases to be a paradox that we still have no explanation for one surprising and symptomatic fact: the early museums of the eighteenth century do not show exceptional pieces, but stones, bones, shells, feathers, maps, models, microscopes, looms, ploughs and so on. But what are all these ordinary things doing in a museum?
Able Minds and Practised Hands: Scotland's Early Medieval Sculpture in the 21st Century, eds Sally Foster and Morag Cross, 2005
Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh was often regarded as the appropriate repository for such sculptures by the landowners, antiquarians and officials involved. Lately though, this trend has declined, and early medieval sculpture has increasingly been incorporated into local museum collections, moved to nearby historic buildings, or actively conserved within the landscape (e.g. through the use of glass shelters). Nevertheless controversy still reigns even in the context of local solutions to conservation needs. The broader public, particularly local communities, often voice concern and dissent in response to a range of conservation strategies, suggesting that they impinge upon, or conflict with, the current cultural meanings and social values surrounding such sculpture. The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in S. Foster and M. Cross (eds) Able Minds and Practised Hands. Scotland's early medieval sculpture in the21 st century. (2005, Society for Medieval Archaeology). Available at:
Future Thinking on Carved Stones in Scotland: A Research Framework
This fully illustrated, downloadable pdf comprises the main (2016) text of Future Thinking on Carved Stones in Scotland: A Research Framework. Significantly, it enables a linear read of the online wiki version, produced as part of the Scottish Archaeology Research Framework (http://www.scottishheritagehub.com/content/future-thinking-carved-stones-scotland), and captures the original text prior to any future modifications. We anticipate that academics and heritage managers, in particular, will appreciate being able to read or dip into the text in this way, as well as individuals and community groups interested in carved stones of all period. The lead authors were Sally Foster (PI), Katherine Forsyth (CI), Susan Buckham and Stuart Jeffrey. A fantastic range of case studies contributed by many others accompany the website: http://www.carvedstones.scot/uploads/4/4/0/3/44032535/cs\_scarf\_case\_studies.pdfhttp://www.carvedstones.scot/uploads/4/4/0/3/44032535/cs\_scarf\_case\_studies.pdf A popular introduction to the Framework and its innovative approach can be found in a downloadable booklet, entitled Listen to the Stones: http://www.scottishheritagehub.com/ftcss\_listen. See also the Listen to the Stones poster that is loaded separately onto academia.edu. There is much in this document and its approach that we believe will be of wider interest and application to heritage management practices, whether led by communities or heritage professionals.
Obligations to Objects: Tangled Histories and Changing Contexts of the Burnett River Rock Engravings
Museum Worlds, 2016
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