Tuesday 29 October 2024

7:00pm (Displays and networking from 6:30pm)

This free public lecture will be delivered live in the Fusion Building, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, BH12 5BB, and will also be available via Zoom.

Abstract

Exactly 120 years after Pitt Rivers was undertaking his seminal excavation and dismantlement of Wor Barrow, a new long barrow was built in Wessex. Located at All Cannings, not far from West Kennet, The Long Barrow (as this site is known) is a columbarium, that is, a megalithic structure built to store cremated human remains in a variety of receptacles, stored on stone shelves called niches. This Neo-neolithic initiative inspired a relative boom in new barrows being constructed across the UK, with six barrow columbaria now open in England, and others being constructed, including the first one in Scotland. These contain grave goods, a few have solstice alignments, and most have their own standing stones or earthworks. In this lecture I will explore this new phase of barrow construction based on visits, interviews, and documentary research. To what extent are these monuments and associated practices inspired by Neolithic monuments, and why is the barrow such a resilient concept?

Kenny Brophy is a Senior Lecturer in archaeology at the University of Glasgow. He has almost three decades of experience of researching various aspects of the British Neolithic with a particular focus on mainland Scotland and cursus monuments. Researching and blogging as the Urban Prehistorian, for the last decade he has focused increasingly on the contemporary relevance and resilience of prehistory, including the ways that prehistoric architecture, practices, and material culture continue to be replicated today.

For further details, registration, and updates please visit the Eventbrite page at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pitt-rivers-2024-housing-the-future-dead-tickets-976049017887