Papers by Sian Thomas
Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal, 2016
Arheo, 2013, Nr. 30, page 47-66
A preliminary evaluation of the Soča Valley’s First and Second World War conflict landscapes has ... more A preliminary evaluation of the Soča Valley’s First and Second World War conflict landscapes has revealed the extraordinary preservation of archaeological and anthropological evidence. Adopting the multidisciplinary approach of “modern conflict archaeology”, study of written sources, field-walking, photography, geodetic and geophysical surveys, test-excavation, and interviews with museums and collectors have demonstrated the potential for a valley-wide investigation of a topographically diverse region which embodies in microcosm the war legacies of 20th century Europe. Archaeological investigations on Mengore and the Tolmin Plain, site visits to the Austro-Hungarian cemeteries on the Kras (Carso), interviews with representatives of institutions, carrying out the protection of this heritage, as well as collectors of war memorabilia, and high-altitude reconnaissance on Mt. Batognica show the uniqueness of the Soča Valley’s rich palimpsest of conflict-related heritage.
Conference Presentations by Sian Thomas
The counties of Devon and Cornwall have been marginalised in past studies of Roman Britain. This ... more The counties of Devon and Cornwall have been marginalised in past studies of Roman Britain. This region lacks developed urban centres, villa estates, and imported ceramics and other materials from the Roman world. This has been used to suggest that the communities of the south-west were never fully integrated into the province of Britannia and in essence the area remained a cultural backwater throughout the four centuries of Roman governance. New research is however, beginning to offer a new reading of the archaeology of this area.
Recent theoretical shifts have seen more emphasis being placed on artefacts and their use in the creation of identity. Using these theoretical approaches I have developed a new methodology to allow me to re-evaluate ceramics and personal adornment items from sites within the south-west and explore this relationship between material culture and the creation of identity. Results suggest that communities and individuals did express themselves in different ways after the conquest, although differing stimuli for change meant that these identities were unstable and were renegotiated through time. In this paper I would like to explore the way in which these new identities were formed and expressed, and how they altered during the Romano-British period. In particular I would like to examine the mechanisms for change to offer an explanation as to why these differing identities formed. It is hoped that this approach can be applied more widely across other areas of the Roman World which display low levels of engagement with ‘Roman’ material culture.
Evidence from the site of Nornour suggests that it functioned as a shrine during the Roman period... more Evidence from the site of Nornour suggests that it functioned as a shrine during the Roman period. Over 300 brooches have been found on the site making it the second largest collection from Roman Britain. This paper aims to explore what made Nornour so special through examination of the whole artefact assemblage, which includes coins, pipe clay figurines and miniature ceramic vessels that have often been overlooked in past discussions.
The question at the heart of the paper will be who the individuals using the site were, why they travelled such long distances and braved the often dangerous sea crossing to visit such a small site. Current interpretations are that many of the items were deposited by traders. However, the islands lie too far to the south-west of Britain for them to be a regular stopping off point. I would like to explore whether the range of artefacts deposited at Nornour and their origins suggest individuals other than traders were using the shrine? Many of the artefacts travelled hundreds of miles to be deposited at Nornour and I aim to show that they were carefully chosen, suggesting they were more than just offerings for safe passage and that Nornour was a place of special significance for a far wider audience.
Brooches are scarce throughout Roman Cornwall with only a few sites having produced them in any g... more Brooches are scarce throughout Roman Cornwall with only a few sites having produced them in any great numbers. The most notable exception to this is the site of Nor’nour in the Isles of Scilly where nearly 300 brooches were found. The favoured interpretation is that it was a sacred site or temple, which was in use until the third century AD. Nor’nour appears to be exceptional in Roman Cornwall, not just because of the number of brooches but also due the fact they were deposited during the second to third centuries AD, shortly after manufacture.
This is often not the case for other brooches found in Cornwall. Evidence from excavated sites indicates that the curation of brooches took place with these items being kept in some cases for two hundred years, before finally being deposited. In a small number of cases these brooches may have been locally manufactured. A Cornish variant of the Aesica brooch has recently been recognised from sites across the South-West, with a number of these brooches having been recorded.
This paper will examine the use and function of brooches in Roman Cornwall, in particular their role in the (re)creation of socio-corporeality and how this changed over time. From their initial use in the renegotiation of identity through to final deposition were these objects imbued with social memory? Discussion will review research in this field before turning to explore how we might consider the ‘missing years’ in their life-course ultimately leading to them being discarded with the rubbish.
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Papers by Sian Thomas
Conference Presentations by Sian Thomas
Recent theoretical shifts have seen more emphasis being placed on artefacts and their use in the creation of identity. Using these theoretical approaches I have developed a new methodology to allow me to re-evaluate ceramics and personal adornment items from sites within the south-west and explore this relationship between material culture and the creation of identity. Results suggest that communities and individuals did express themselves in different ways after the conquest, although differing stimuli for change meant that these identities were unstable and were renegotiated through time. In this paper I would like to explore the way in which these new identities were formed and expressed, and how they altered during the Romano-British period. In particular I would like to examine the mechanisms for change to offer an explanation as to why these differing identities formed. It is hoped that this approach can be applied more widely across other areas of the Roman World which display low levels of engagement with ‘Roman’ material culture.
The question at the heart of the paper will be who the individuals using the site were, why they travelled such long distances and braved the often dangerous sea crossing to visit such a small site. Current interpretations are that many of the items were deposited by traders. However, the islands lie too far to the south-west of Britain for them to be a regular stopping off point. I would like to explore whether the range of artefacts deposited at Nornour and their origins suggest individuals other than traders were using the shrine? Many of the artefacts travelled hundreds of miles to be deposited at Nornour and I aim to show that they were carefully chosen, suggesting they were more than just offerings for safe passage and that Nornour was a place of special significance for a far wider audience.
This is often not the case for other brooches found in Cornwall. Evidence from excavated sites indicates that the curation of brooches took place with these items being kept in some cases for two hundred years, before finally being deposited. In a small number of cases these brooches may have been locally manufactured. A Cornish variant of the Aesica brooch has recently been recognised from sites across the South-West, with a number of these brooches having been recorded.
This paper will examine the use and function of brooches in Roman Cornwall, in particular their role in the (re)creation of socio-corporeality and how this changed over time. From their initial use in the renegotiation of identity through to final deposition were these objects imbued with social memory? Discussion will review research in this field before turning to explore how we might consider the ‘missing years’ in their life-course ultimately leading to them being discarded with the rubbish.
Recent theoretical shifts have seen more emphasis being placed on artefacts and their use in the creation of identity. Using these theoretical approaches I have developed a new methodology to allow me to re-evaluate ceramics and personal adornment items from sites within the south-west and explore this relationship between material culture and the creation of identity. Results suggest that communities and individuals did express themselves in different ways after the conquest, although differing stimuli for change meant that these identities were unstable and were renegotiated through time. In this paper I would like to explore the way in which these new identities were formed and expressed, and how they altered during the Romano-British period. In particular I would like to examine the mechanisms for change to offer an explanation as to why these differing identities formed. It is hoped that this approach can be applied more widely across other areas of the Roman World which display low levels of engagement with ‘Roman’ material culture.
The question at the heart of the paper will be who the individuals using the site were, why they travelled such long distances and braved the often dangerous sea crossing to visit such a small site. Current interpretations are that many of the items were deposited by traders. However, the islands lie too far to the south-west of Britain for them to be a regular stopping off point. I would like to explore whether the range of artefacts deposited at Nornour and their origins suggest individuals other than traders were using the shrine? Many of the artefacts travelled hundreds of miles to be deposited at Nornour and I aim to show that they were carefully chosen, suggesting they were more than just offerings for safe passage and that Nornour was a place of special significance for a far wider audience.
This is often not the case for other brooches found in Cornwall. Evidence from excavated sites indicates that the curation of brooches took place with these items being kept in some cases for two hundred years, before finally being deposited. In a small number of cases these brooches may have been locally manufactured. A Cornish variant of the Aesica brooch has recently been recognised from sites across the South-West, with a number of these brooches having been recorded.
This paper will examine the use and function of brooches in Roman Cornwall, in particular their role in the (re)creation of socio-corporeality and how this changed over time. From their initial use in the renegotiation of identity through to final deposition were these objects imbued with social memory? Discussion will review research in this field before turning to explore how we might consider the ‘missing years’ in their life-course ultimately leading to them being discarded with the rubbish.