This thesis attempts to study the prehistoric archaeology of the English-Welsh Marches (the Anglo-Welsh borderland) from a theoretical position which includes the concept of belonging engendered by landscape and which is informed by border theory. As such it critiques recent approaches which emphasise ethnicity and personhood. The concept of culture is also critically examined and an approach taken which is described as a "border perspective". The Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeology of the region is outlined and three classes of evidence form the main focus of the study. The use of stone and flint for the production of tools is considered and the distribution of these materials used to illustrate the presence of a prehistoric population with connections outside the region. The use of stone' as a potting material in the later part of the Bronze Age is also considered, and the use of special materials from places such as the Malvern Hills and Clee Hills is described. The analysis of the production, utilisation and discard of Bronze Age metalwork is the second class of material covered here. Distinctive patterns of use and deposition are identified and some interpretations of the possible meanings of these patterns are forwarded. The construction of enclosures is the final class of evidence considered. The construction of enclosures throughout prehistory is a well-known practise, but those in the study area differ in a number of ways to those found elsewhere. Particular attention is focussed on the construction of hilltop enclosures/hillforts in the later part of the Bronze Age and the social role these might have played. A number of themes run through the research presented here. These include the use of places such as hilltops and wetlands for certain kinds of practise; the nature of difference and how this may be accounted for and the negotiation of different kinds of border by individuals in the past.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:552832 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Mullin, David |
| Publisher | University of Reading |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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