Shadow Sites
Photography, Archaeology, and the British Landscape 1927-1955
Published on 29. March 2007
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-0-19-920632-2 (ISBN)
Description
At certain times of the day - at sunrise, and sunset - the outlines of prehistoric fields, barrows and hill-forts in the British landscape may be thrown into relief. Such 'shadow sites', best seen from above, and captured by an airborne camera, are both examples of, and metaphors for, a particular way of seeing the landscape. At a time of rapid modernisation and urbanisation in mid-twentieth-century Britain, an archaeological vision of the British landscape reassured and enchanted a number of writers, artists, photographers, and film-makers. From John Piper, Eric Ravilious and Shell guide books, to photographs of bomb damage, aerial archaeology, and The Wizard of Oz, Kitty Hauser delves into evocative interpretations of the landscape and looks at the affinities between photography as a medium to capture traces of the past as well as their absence.
Reviews / Votes
She brings a new and highly revealing eye to the neo-romantic landscape * Patrick Wright, Twentieth Century British History * Kitty Hauser's significant new book...offers a valuable account of the development of aerial archaeology from its origins to the 1950s * Sam Smiles Oxford Art Journal * This book speaks eloquently, with intricate sophistication but not a trace of obscurity, to a multi-disciplinary audience. It is, besides an exquisite product - lavishly and pertinently illustrated, almost immaculately copy-edited and proofed (still an OUP speciality), and gorgeously written * Peter Mandler, English Historical Review * ...brilliantly suggestive of how historical consciousness in modern Britain can be inspirational and creative, and need not be anti-modern. * Neil Cossens, History Today Books of the Year * Hauser offers lively, detailed descriptions and analyses, as well as colourful and relevant historical accounts. * Pamela Jane Smith, Antiquity *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
120 halftone illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
658 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-920632-2 (9780199206322)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Kitty Hauser is a historian of visual and material culture who has written for publications including the New Left Review, the Burlington Magazine, and the London Review of Books. Previously a research fellowship at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, she has also taught at the London College of Fashion and the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford. She is currently Research Fellow at the University of Sydney.
Content
Introduction ; The Archaeological Imagination ; Tracing the Trace: Photography, the Index, and the Limits of Representation ; Reading Antiquity, Mapping History ; Revenants in the Landscape: The Discoveries of Aerial Archaeology ; Recuperating Ruins ; A Tale of Two Cities ; Conclusion ; Appendix: John Piper's 'Papers from Antiquity'