A Scandinavian Relief Brooch: Artistic Vision and Practical Method Combined

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Medieval Archaeology on December 20, 2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00766097.2018.1535384.THIS PAPER considers the craftspeople that created ornamental metalwork, the contexts in which they operated, and the communication they had with their contemporaries. The study focuses on the Dalem brooch, a 6th-century Scandinavian relief brooch from Norway. By examining an object which expresses a complex symbolic language through intricate and demanding crafting processes, we emphasise the importance of considering both ornamentation and technology when studying these exquisite dress items. The brooch was manufactured from a variety of materials and decorated in Salin Style 1. This ornamentation, with its religious, political and social connotations, was completely integrated into the object from its conception. A combination of new and old designs indicates that the craftspeople purposefully created and transformed motifs for use on the brooch, operating within a creative, cross-disciplinary and intellectual centre of expertise.acceptedVersio

Does environmental archaeology need an ethical promise?

Environmental catastrophes represent profound challenges faced by societies today. Numerous scholars in the climate sciences and the humanities have argued for a greater ethical engagement with these pressing issues. At the same time, several disciplines concerned with hazards are moving towards formalized ethical codes or promises that not only guide the dissemination of data but oblige scientists to relate to fundamentally political issues. This article couples a survey of the recent environmental ethics literature with two case studies of how past natural hazards have affected vulnerable societies in Europe's prehistory. We ask whether cases of past calamities and their societal effects should play a greater role in public debates and whether archaeologists working with past environmental hazards should be more outspoken in their ethical considerations. We offer no firm answers, but suggest that archaeologists engage with debates in human-environment relations at this interface between politics, public affairs and science