Medieval and Early Modern Archaeology

Review: Belyaev L.A., Mednikova M.B. In Search of the Romanovs' Boyars: Cross-Sectoral Study of the Tomb of the 16th — 17th Centuries in Znamenskaya  Church of Novospassky Monastery in Moscow: in 2 vols. Vol. 1, ed. N.A. Makarov; Institute of Archaeology, RAS. Moscow: ClubPrint Publ., 2018. 208 p.

Régészeti konferencia a Damjanich János Múzeum szervezésében.

Időpont: 2019.10.17-18. (csütörtök-péntek)
Helyszín: 5000 Szolnok, Kossuth tér 4, Damjanich János Múzeum, Konferencia terem, 1. emelet

A részvétel díjmentes, azonban regisztrációhoz kötött.
Regisztráció: titkarsag@djm.hu

Il Castello di Milano è un’opera medievale voluta dai Visconti e potenziata dagli Sforza. Oggi è sede di biblioteche, musei e raccolte d’arte, ma rimane una formidabile “macchina da combattimento”, dove hanno lavorato tra i migliori architetti e ingegneri italiani. I soli studi d’epoca medievale riguardanti la Fortezza, a oggi noti, sono di Leonardo da Vinci, il quale ne ha esaminato le difese, comprensive delle parti sotterranee, prospettando i miglioramenti. Trent’anni d’indagini speleologiche condotte innanzitutto nei suoi sotterranei hanno permesso di eseguire le planimetrie dell’articolato sistema, composto anche di canali d’acqua segreti, mettendole a confronto con i disegni leonardeschi. Si è così compreso che una parte della Fortezza non è stata demolita, ma solo “cimata”: oggi nel sottosuolo esiste un patrimonio archeologico, architettonico e artistico inestimabile, ma da recuperare integralmente. Il lavoro presenta un metodo d’indagine multidisciplinare che può essere facilmente applicato allo studio di ogni altra fortificazione europea.
The castle of Milan is a medieval work commissioned by the Visconti and developed by the Sforza. Today it is intended for cultural functions but its origins are those of a formidable "combat machine". Some of the best Italian architects and engineers worked on the creation of the castle. The only studies known about the fortress, belonging to the medieval age, are by Leonardo da Vinci. He examined the defences, including the underground parts, looking for improvements. Thirty years of speleological investigations, first of all conducted in its basements, and also concerning secret water channels, have allowed us to carry out the plans of the complex system and to compare them with Leonardo's drawings. This has made it clear to the author that a part of the Fortress has not been demolished, but only "cut" in the surface. Today there is an invaluable archaeological, architectural and artistic heritage to be fully recovered. The work presents a method of multidisciplinary investigation that can be applied to the study of any other European fortification.

The archaeological excavations in the medieval town of Caransebeș (Sebeș)
during 2017 and 2018 revealed fragments from a medieval street, most probably built
between 1551‐1552, at the same time with a consolidation of the fortification, ordered
by the imperial general Gian Battista Castaldo (1493‐1563). The street was arranged
with stone on a width of 4.80 m. Other fragments of stone pavements and a water
drainage gutter, used during the 16th century and most of the 17th century, have been
found on its side. The street and the water drainage gutters were no longer in use after
the city was conquered by the Austrians (1688). According to the cartographic sources,
the street appeared on an Austriac map depicting the city during the Ottoman rule.

Saturday 26 October, Times and room tbc Join us to explore how scholars are approaching the Tudors now-from palaces to parishes. Speakers will discuss the birthplace of Lady Jane Grey and what recent excavations mean for myth and history; what we can learn from the London parish where her sister worshipped and how we need to look again at the Tudor book trade. Speakers will include Richard Thomas on archaeology, Lou Horton on Mary Grey and Michelle O'Callaghan on writers, books and the book trade. Power and Objects in Portraiture: LRS and Paris Early Modern Seminar Friday 6 December. Note dual location: Birkbeck and National Portrait Gallery Portraits are an extraordinary source of clues to Renaissance life and power. Join us to explore what happens when we put portraits alongside literature, history and things. In this event with our colleagues from Paris, speakers from France, the UK and beyond will explore what portraits tell us about early modern power. Speakers will be drawn from Britain and France. We are at present open for offers to contribute so if you are interested in potentially speaking or participating in a workshop contact s.wiseman@bbk.ac.uk.

Excavations in 2018 at the rear of the former ‘Avalon Inn’, High Street, Castlecomer, uncovered the north-east bastion of a large fort which was probably constructed as a government fortress in the run-up to the 1641 Rebellion. The fort was one of a series built to defend the vital
road link between Dublin and Kilkenny and it was besieged by the Confederate forces in 1641-2. Castlecomer Fort appears to have been a relatively shortlived stronghold and whilst it was probably reoccupied c. 1653 by an English garrison and perhaps again in 1680, there is no indication that it continued to function as a fort after c. 1700. The paper describes the archaeological excavations and places the fort in its broader historical context.

This paper considers the interpretation and function of ancient objects in the European high and late middle ages through the lens of coin hoard evidence, with a particular focus on the inclusion of ancient coins and engraved gemstones in hoards of the 11th to 15th centuries. Comparative analysis emphasises the diverse trajectories of ancient objects in medieval society; locally-found and deliberately-imported antiquities were equally capable of being reused and reimagined as sources of bullion, as collectable markers of social status, as Christian devotional images, or as amulets and talismans imbued with divine or magical power.

The 20th conference of the European Archaeological Council (EAC) was held in Ireland in February 2019. The meeting took place in Dublin Castle and focused on the proper management of monuments and archaeological sites as well as the possibilities of presenting them to the wider public. For years, discussions on monument protection in the EAC symposiums have focused on the problems posed by the relationship of archaeology to investments. Cultural tourism is a critical issue, in which the interests and needs of these two fields meet—or clash. In Hungary, this is most conspicuous in connection with the so-called heritage developments undertaken within the framework of the National Program for Castles and Fortresses, coordinated by the National Heritage Protection and Development Ltd (in Hungarian: Nemzeti Örökségvédelmi és Fejlesztési Nkft, NÖF). Two sites, Sárospatak and Szabadkígyós, are presented in this paper as examples of archaeological research projects undertaken in preparation for the further development of an area.

Az Európai Régészeti Tanács (EAC) 2019 februárjában Írországban tartotta 20. konferenciáját. A dublini várban megrendezett találkozó a műemléki helyszínek és régészeti területek megfelelő kezelésének, vala-mint a nagyközönség számára történő bemutatásának lehetőségeit tárgyalta. A szervezet szimpóziumain a régészeti örökség kezelésére vonatkozó viták középpontjában évek óta a régészet és a beruházások kapcsolatának problémaköre áll. A két fél érdekei és igényei különösen a kulturális turizmusnál érnek (vagy ütköznek?) össze, ami Magyarországon legújabban az ún. örökségi beruházásoknál, a Nemzeti Örökségvédelmi Fejlesztési Nkft. (NÖF Nkft.) által koordinált Nemzeti Kastély-és Várprogramnál kísérhető figyelemmel. Előadásunkban a fejlesztések előkészítéséhez kapcsolódó régészeti munkákat mutattuk be két helyszín: Sárospatak és Szabadkígyós példáján keresztül.

År 1724 fick Maria Engel, kallad Maricken, änka efter skeppsredaren Peter Regardt, möjlighet att köpa en gård vid Fiskaregatan i Kalmar. När hennes hus undersöktes 2012 hittades ett mynt från 1724 i grovkökets spis, som visar att hon låtit reparera huset när hon tillträdde köpet. Maria kom sedan att bo kvar i trettio år, av tillnamnet Maricken framgår det att hon var en välkänd profil i kvarteret. Inte långt därifrån i samma kvarter såg sig samtidigt änkan Maria Loberg tvingad att stycka av sin lilla tomt och sälja den norra delen till handelsmannen Peter Moberger, kanske var det hennes sätt att klara livhanken som nybliven änka. Ingierd Frimolin, änka efter hästkrögaren Roting vid Smedjegatan i Jönköping, fortsatte däremot att driva gården vidare efter makens död, samtidigt som undersökningen 2008 tyder på att verksamheten på gården ändrat inriktning.
Genom att kombinera arkeologiska lämningar, bevarade byggnader, skrift och materiella lämningar har historisk arkeologi en unik möjlighet att påvisa nya och oväntade historiska kontexter och därmed väsentligen problematisera bilden av sociala förhållanden i det nära förgångna. Med hjälp av de senaste årens storskaliga arkeologiska undersökningar i städer som Kalmar, Jönköping, Linköping och Norrköping har vi fått nya möjligheter genom stora källmaterial att närstudera den byggda miljön i relation till ägare, boende och sociala relationer.
Bland olika möjliga perspektiv ställer det nya frågor kring genusrelationer i de tidigmoderna städerna. Hushållens sammansättning i en urban, tidigmodern kontext har hittills främst diskuterats av historiker. Genom att analysera byggnader i ett hushållsperspektiv, med fysiska hus i kombination med ägare och boende som livsbiografier, finns möjligheten att studera genusrelationer och kvinnors handlingsutrymme i en tidigmodern hushållskontext mer specifikt.