Liz Henty - isualising Skyscapes: Material Forms of Cultural Engagement with the Heavens

Visualising Skyscapes

Above the land and its horizon lies the celestial sphere, that great dome of the sky which governs light and darkness, critical to life itself, yet its influence is often neglected in the archaeological narrative. Visualising Skyscapes captures a growing interest in the emerging field of skyscape archaeology.

This powerful and innovative book returns the sky to its rightful place as a central consideration in archaeological thought and can be regarded as a handbook for further research. Bookended by a foreword by archaeologist Gabriel Cooney and an afterword by astronomer Andrew Newsam, its contents have a wide-reaching relevance for the fields of archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, archaeoastronomy, astronomy, heritage and cultural studies. The volume balances six chapters on theory and methodology which elaborate on the history and practice of the field with six other chapters focused on case studies from around the world.

Visualising Skyscapes captures the growing interest in the multidisciplinary study of skyscapes and will be of interest to academics, students and the general public, as well as having international appeal. It is topical, timely and relevant to current debates and will hopefully stimulate further interest in this exciting and relatively new area of investigation. The contributions showcase the work of distinguished academics in the field and the chapters are all enhanced by numerous photographs and images.

Liz Henty is examining the relationship between the histories of archaeology and archaeoastronomy for her doctoral thesis at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter. Her many publications include a contribution to Skyscapes (2015). In 2015, she co-founded the Journal of Skyscape Archaeology , of which she is also co-editor.

Daniel Brown has a doctorate in astrophysics and is an Associate Professor in Astronomy and Science Communication at Nottingham Trent University, England. His work combines heritage, light pollution and archaeoastronomy. He organises skyscapes sessions at National Astronomy Meetings and edited the 2014 session proceedings for the Journal of Physics: Conference Series (2016).

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Visualising Skyscapes

Material Forms of Cultural Engagement with the Heavens

Edited by
Liz Henty and Daniel Brown

First published 2020

by Routledge

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and by Routledge

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2020 selection and editorial matter, Liz Henty and Daniel Brown; individual chapters, the contributors

The right of Liz Henty and Daniel Brown to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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ISBN: 978-1-138-30361-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-73093-5 (ebk)

Typeset in Sabon

by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

Contents

DANIEL BROWN AND LIZ HENTY

LIZ HENTY

GEORG ZOTTI

FABIO SILVA

FRANK PRENDERGAST

BERNADETTE BRADY

LIONEL SIMS

FRDRIC HELLER, FRDRIC BROES AND GEORG ZOTTI

DARRELYN GUNZBURG

EMLIA PSZTOR

JARITA C. HOLBROOK

DAVID W. PANKENIER

DEBORAH HARTY, DANIEL BROWN, AMANDA REYES ASTURIAS, KIERAN SIMCOX AND PHILLIP JOHNSON

Amanda Reyes Asturias

Nottingham Trent University, England

amandayrobertson@me.com

Bernadette Brady

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

b.brady@uwtsd.ac.uk

Frdric Broes

INRAP (Institut National de Recherches Archologiques Prventives), France

frederic.broes@inrap.fr

Daniel Brown

Nottingham Trent University, England

daniel.brown02@ntu.ac.uk

Gabriel Cooney

University College Dublin, Ireland

gabriel.cooney@ucd.ie

Darrelyn Gunzburg

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

d.gunzburg@uwtsd.ac.uk

Deborah Harty

Loughborough University, England

d.j.harty@lboro.ac.uk

Frdric Heller

Walloon Heritage Agency, Belgium

frederic.heller@awap.be

Liz Henty

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

lizhenty2@gmail.com

Jarita Holbrook

University of the Western Cape, South Africa

astroholbrook@gmail.com

Phillip Johnson

Nottingham Trent University, England

P.Johnson@lboro.ac.uk

Andrew Newsam

Liverpool John Moores University, England

A.Newsam@ljmu.ac.uk

David W. Pankenier

Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, United States

dwp0@lehigh.edu

Emlia Psztor

Trr Istvn Museum, Hungary

pasztoremilia@tolna.net

Frank Prendergast

Technological University Dublin, Ireland

frank.prendergast@dit.ie

Fabio Silva

Department of Archaeology, Anthropology & Forensic Science,

Bournemouth University, England

fsilva@bournemouth.ac.uk

Kieran Simcox

Nottingham Trent University, England

kieran.simcox@googlemail.com

Lionel Sims

University of East London, England

lionel.sims@btinternet.com

Georg Zotti

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology, Austria

georg.zotti@univie.ac.at

The editors would like to thank Nottingham Trent University for their financial support towards publishing this edited volume. We would also like to express our gratitude to Fabio Silva for his ongoing and invaluable support.

Gabriel Cooney

As he walked along the street, every detail required a new dimension. He found a connection with the leaves on the trees and the cracks in the surface of the wall. The effects of the light brought the true structure of the objects that he had seen in the sky. He saw spirals and the arms of galaxies in the smallest and most ordinary cells. The celestial phenomena had erupted into his daily life