The archaeology of slighting
A methodological framework for interpreting castle destruction in the Middle Ages
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11616826 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Nevell (0000-0003-1895-3865, Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 177 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 99-139 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-20 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0066-5983 • E-ISSN: 2373-2288 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00665983.2019.1590029 |
| OpenAlex | W2944862946 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 40 |
The use of destruction in the past, its purpose and function, is poorly understood and an under-studied area. With hundreds of excavations at castles, there is a body of archaeological evidence that can be synthesised into a study of destruction. Slighting is the damage of a high-status structure, its associated landscape and contents to degrade its value. This article aims to bring the study of destruction into the established discourse of castles and medieval archaeology. It does this by establishing a methodological framework for understanding slighting and examines its application at key sites. In doing so, a chronology and geography of slighting is produced, along with a rich understanding of how and why castles were destroyed in the medieval period. Case studies of Weston Turville (Buckinghamshire) and Degannwy (Caernarfonshire) are used to explore how the archaeological and historical records interact and can be used to corroborate each other. By examining the archaeology of destruction, a new interpretation of slighting has been advanced, understanding it as an activity rich in social meaning with implications beyond the study of castles and the medieval period
Aesthetics · Archaeological record · Archaeology · Art · Chronology · Excavation · Historical archaeology · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Middle Ages · Period (music · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Psychology
Disastro, Catastrophe, and Divine Judgment
Archaeology Under Fire
Medieval Life
Mutilation and Transformation
Iconoclasm from Antiquity to Modernity
Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1999
Medieval Warfare
The Excavation of a Motte and Bailey Castle at Therfield, Hertfordshire
The Age of Clay
Can less be more? Heritage in the age of terrorism
Excavations at Degannwy Castle, Caernarvonshire, 1961–6
Part VNorfolk
Gateways to Power
Excavations at Lochmaben Castle, Dumfriesshire
The Excavation of Coull Castle, Aberdeenshire
The excavation of Esslemont Castle, Aberdeenshire
Excavations at Castlehill of Strachan, 1980-1
Political iconoclasm
Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1997
Medieval Britain in 1981
The Keep of Wareham Castle
Recent Excavations in the Keep of Farnham Castle, Surrey
Excavations at Caergwrle Castle, Clwyd, North Wales
Leicester Castle
A Kingdom Cleared of Castles
A List of Castles, 1154–1216
Techniques of Archaeological Excavation
Castles in Context
Castle Tower, Penmaen
The demolition of the keep at Benington
The twelfth-century castle at Ascot Doilly, Oxfordshire
Biography and Memory
| Citations per year | 0.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2021 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |