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Historical Archaeology in Sweden : from the Middle Ages to Modernity

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Author

Editor

  • Mette Svart Kristiansen
  • Else Roesdahl
  • James Graham-Campbell

Summary, in English

The article outlines the origin and later transformation of Medieval Archaeology to Historical Archaeology, both as an antiquarian practice and as an academic subject, focusing on the development in Sweden since the 18th C. Where the concept of the Middle Ages defined the former subject, both its opportunities and its limitations, now Modernity has turned up as a new challenging concept. Archaeology has already seen a number of studies into Modernity or the process of modernization going right up to present. However, the Middle Ages and Modernity are both metaphors creating simplified images in our minds, which contribute to preserve the divide between different periods. When I have to choose between an archaeology of the Middle Ages and an archaeology of Modernity, I prefer Historical Archaeology with a rather open definition – the methodological meeting between objects, texts and images.

Publishing year

2015

Language

English

Pages

155-174

Publication/Series

Medieval Archaeology in Scandinavia and Beyond : History, trends and tomorrow. Proceedings of a conference to celebrate 40 years of medieval archaeology at Aarhus University, 26-27 October 2011

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

Aarhus Universitetsforlag

Topic

  • Archaeology

Keywords

  • Historical Archaeology
  • Middle Ages
  • Modernity
  • Romanticism

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 978 87 7124 378 9
  • ISBN: 877124378X