Aside from the content of this query, this string has raised some interesting questions.

I was really struck by your phrasing Iain, that you are 'surprised no one has mentioned' this.  You used the same phrasing with your mention of Lewis Binford's death.  It suggests that you think that someone else should have, rather than simply mentioning it yourself, and indeed rather than sharing your own thoughts or work.  Is this because there is a perception that there are people on the list responsible for bringing the study of contemporary archaeology forward?  Is this a more general perception?  Its certainly not my perception.

Secondly, as Sef suggests, the query raises questions of how contemporary archaeological fieldwork is conducted and when it should be shared. Is there a perception that it can all be done in a weekend?  How should it be planned, recorded, reported on (obviously there will be many answers but I wouldn't think that we should expect our discussion of material to coincide with the actual event very often)


All the best
Sarah


-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion List for Contemporary and Historical Archaeology [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Penrose, Sefryn
Sent: 02 May 2011 17:48
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The contemporary archaeology of the Royal Wedding

I'm sure that many of us were out doing fieldwork on Friday, but it's a bit soon to ask for results surely. Contemporary archaeology, like royal relationships, needs time to steep. The post-ex surely needs more than a weekend and a Mayday bank holiday?

My participant-observer status on the day got a bit confused and so my post-ex results are contaminated. I'll up my game for Harry & Chelsy.


Sefryn Penrose
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From: Discussion List for Contemporary and Historical Archaeology [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Duncansayer [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 02 May 2011 12:40
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The contemporary archaeology of the Royal Wedding

Interesting you were distracted by the wedding, have you thought of studying the football ground? I'm not sure that chasing glory for the sake of it is worth while, there will be plenty of sociologies of the royal wedding that do exactly what you describe. We don't have an archaeology of weddings at all, that im aware of, so mabe it would be wiser to consider the royal wedding in a wider ritual and societal setting enriched by a broad contextual understanding of the materiality of matrimony in the 21st century.

Any archaeological studies about Michal Jacksons death? In commemorative terms there as many, or more, memorials to him than Diana. Which is interesting, both in terms of a comparative study and what contemporary archaeologist do and do not look at.

Best Wishes

Duncan Sayer

Lecturer in Archaeology
UCLan


-----Original Message-----
From: Iain Stuart <[log in to unmask]>
To: CONTEMP-HIST-ARCH <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Mon, 2 May 2011 5:28
Subject: The contemporary archaeology of the Royal Wedding

 Thereason I raised this question (apart from a bit of stirring the
possum) is thatthere were a few archaeological studies of the death of Diana in particular thememorials as an expression of public grief. Surelythis is just a big an event (although lacking the
spontaneity) and deservesstudy. I wasn't really thinking of studying the "royals" butwhat the people in the street were doing - how they expressed theirposition in it all. To camp out for days, to wave a flag to buy a plate or aPeco N scale "Royal Wedding train" says something about peoplesplace in British society. Were there subversives (remember the Maori protestsof a few years back where they protested a Royal Visit by flashing and slappingtheir bums in a traditional gesture of protest)? What about people like myrelatives on Skye still reflecting on the failure of '45?  Itseems like a rich opportunity is or was there to be studied and maybe contemporaryhistorical archaeology missed it! Ispent the occasion with 28,000 others at the Sydney Football Ground in thepouring rain watching my team get beaten. The fans behind me were watching thewedding on-line! Suchis life Dr Iain StuartPartnerJCIS Consultants --------------------------contemp-hist-arch is a list for news and eventsin contemporary and historical archaeology, andfor announcements relating to the CHAT conference group.-------For email subscription options see:http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/archives/contemp-hist-arch.html-------Visit
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contemp-hist-arch is a list for news and events
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for announcements relating to the CHAT conference group.
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