Battlefield Archaeology

Battlefield Archaeology

History written by the victor?

Battlefields may also provide evidence for events that occurred over very short periods of time, with the Battle of Shrewsbury, for example, lasting for less than three hours. In this they differ from most investigated archaeological sites, which (with a few exceptions, including hunter-gatherer hunting camps) represent repeated and long-lasting areas of activity. However, even though battles may have taken place within a short time-span, the events that preceded them, perhaps in campsites near the battlefield, are also important, as are those that took place in the battle's aftermath, which may have resulted in the creation of features such as graves.

The study of battles has long been the domain of historians, who obviously play a vital role in advancing our understanding of the past. There is a saying that goes 'history is written by the victor', and there is undoubtedly some truth to it. Particularly so in the case of a battle, where it is the victor who is most obviously left at liberty to revel in post-battle glory, and to exaggerate the magnitude of his victory.

Victory in the long term can also ensure that short-term defeats are underplayed, or written about in such a way as to make them glorious and noble last stands against overwhelming odds. This point is often apparent in the case of colonialist conflicts, where indigenous people might have won some mighty battles against their invaders, but then gone on to lose the war as a whole, and much else besides.

T here was a dedicated team of specialists who joined us to uncover the secrets of these battlefields. Topographical scientists create detailed contour maps of the battlefield and its place within the wider landscape. Geophysicists analyse sub surface features using state of the art machinery that are otherwise invisible to the eye. Local teams of metal detectorists mark the locations of dropped metalwork; field directors and senior excavators reveal sections of the buried landscape, keeping detailed notes, making scale drawings and taking photographs as they delve deeper into the ground. Conservators detail the artefacts recovered by the excavators and metal detectorists and make sure that they are damaged as little as possible by exposure to the air. Physical anthropologists study any human remains and glean information about the age and sex of the people who died in the battle - as well as their physical health at the time of death and historical weapons experts assist in making sense of all the metal artefacts we recover. Little by little, this small army of experts can build up a picture of the events which took place on this epic sites and profiles of the people who fought there.

Excavating human remains

Introduction

The British Isles are really one huge cemetery. Think how many generations have lived, died and been buried over the time that our islands have been permanently inhabited. Many of these people lie in places that we can recognise, in churchyards and cemeteries, or under prehistoric burial mounds, but many more lie unrecognised, in places that were special to those who buried them, but have now faded from memory. Many of these burials are rediscovered and excavated each year, either because sites need to be developed for roads, housing or quarries, or for research purposes, to help in our understanding of the past. In either case, the excavations are carried out by trained archaeologists, the remains treated with great respect, and the results of both excavation and scientific analysis made available through publications and museums.

The question of whether the person is male or female can usually be answered by examining the pelvis and skull.

Coming across human remains may often be the most exciting part of a dig, but in many ways the most important (and time-consuming) part of the whole process is what happens after the excavation is over. This is the 'detective story', where the bones and other finds from the site are analysed to provide the clues that we need to build a picture of a person and their surroundings. The skeleton itself will provide the first clues. The question of whether the person is male or female can usually be answered by examining the pelvis and skull. Height can be calculated from the length of the femur (thigh bone) and age from teeth and other aspects of the skeleton's growth and degeneration.

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Detective work

Injuries and diseases sometimes leave traces on the bones although the actual cause of death is often the most difficult to determine. Many injuries don't damage bone, their effect is just within the overlying soft tissue. Likewise many infections, without the aid of modern medicines, would have proved rapidly fatal, too swift to allow bones to develop tell tale signs and changes.

Radiocarbon dating, the analysis of ancient DNA and of isotopes locked into bones and teeth are all part of the scientific armoury that can be used to help build up a picture of our ancestors. Used together these techniques can tell us when a person died, their diet and family relationships and even their place of birth and subsequent travels.

Where the bones themselves allow it, facial reconstruction techniques can be used to allow us to come face to face with the past. The techniques used have been developed for forensic work in tracing missing persons through their often fragmentary remains and for surgical reconstruction. Both sculptural and digital images are used to create an image of a person from the past that, although not claimed to be a precise likeness, would most probably have been recognisable to that person's friends or relatives.

The excavation of human remains, of whatever date, is regulated by law and requires a licence from the Home Office.

The excavation of human remains, of whatever date, from their place of burial, is regulated by law and requires a licence from the Home Office. But even after excavation has taken place there is the question of what happens to the remains. The divide is often between Christian and non-Christian, with Christians more likely to be re-buried while prehistoric burials more often than not end up in museum storage. With museum storage there is the advantage that these remains are available for subsequent study or for the application of new methods of analysis. There is also the consideration that, in the majority of cases, the original place of burial, which may have been of great significance to the person buried there, has been destroyed by development.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04