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OFFSHORE FINDS FROM THE BRONZE AGE IN NORTH‐WESTERN EUROPE: THE SHIPWRECK SCENARIO REVISITED
Author(s) -
SAMSON ALICE V.M.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0092.2006.00267.x
Subject(s) - bronze age , archaeology , bronze , interpretation (philosophy) , channel (broadcasting) , submarine pipeline , baltic sea , geology , geography , history , oceanography , engineering , programming language , computer science , electrical engineering
Summary. This article challenges received thinking relating to the interpretation of Bronze Age finds from the seabed in the waters of north‐western Europe, especially the North Sea and Channel area. Metal objects recovered from the sea are traditionally presumed to be the result of shipwrecks. As such, their interpretation as casual, if unfortunate loss is unquestioned. However, abandoning the shipwreck scenario as a remnant of the ‘sacred vs profane’ heuristic, it is suggested that offshore finds could provide insight into deliberate Bronze Age maritime practice, rather than misadventure. Certain patterning in the data of offshore finds, including affinities with hoards on terra firma , urges another interpretive framework – that of considering the sea as a place for deposition. This appeared to be the case particularly in regions which experienced an intensity of maritime interaction, such as the Channel area during the later Bronze Age. From this it is hypothesized that rather than being considered outside the Bronze Age social realm, the sea, especially in the MBA to earlier LBA in the Channel area, was incorporated into Bronze Age cosmology in similar ways to other zones in the landscape.