Title:

Judaica as Portable Antiquities in England and Wales

Creator:

Barford, Paul

Publisher:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences ; Polish Academy of Sciences. Łódź Branch

Place of publishing:

Łódź

Date issued/created:

2023

Description:

ill. ; 29 cm

Type of object:

Journal/Article

Subject and Keywords:

Jewish ; kosher ; seal matrices ; England ; metal detecting ; portable antiquities

Abstract:

This article examines the use of the database of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) for England and Wales, which records archaeological finds made by the public (particularly metal detector users). The PAS database is generally considered a valuable resource for archaeological research, but its use as such is rarely critically examined. In this case study, artefacts related to the specific material culture of the historically-attested Jewish community in Britain are examined as a potential source of archaeological information about a specific historical social group. The article highlights several challenges in interpreting records deriving from information received from collectors and hobbyists as a substitute for data recovered by archaeological methods. Several false leads and misinterpretations have been identified, and the lack of contextual information for the artefacts is especially problematic. The PAS records are of limited utility as a standalone source of evidence, and cannot lead to meaningful conclusions about Jewish lives in Britain. The artefacts primarily serve as material illustrations of existing written records rather than independent sources of information.

References:

Barford P. M. 2016. Portable Antiquities Collectors and an Alter Archaeology of Viking England. In: J. Popielska-Grzybowska, J. Iwaszczuk, B. Józefów-Czerwińska (eds.), Meetings at the Borders. Studies dedicated to Professor Władysław Duczko. Acta Archaeologica Pultuskiensia 5. Pułtusk, 31-36.
Barford P. M. 2020a. Artefact Collecting: Creating or Destroying the Archaeological Record? “Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia” 25, 39-91.
Barford P. M. 2020b. Some Aspects of the Collection-driven Exploitation of the Archaeological Record in England and Wales. “Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent” 30, 101-125.
Berlin A. 2011. Magen David. In: A. Berlin (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (2nd ed.). Oxford, 463.
Bonsall J. 2019. Challenges of Working with Legacy Data from Detectorists: A Case Study in the Fabrication of Evidence. In: T. L. Sutherland, D. Shiels, G. Hughes, S. H. Sutherland (eds.), Conference Proceedings: Fields of Conflict, 2016; Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Dublin, 30-52.
Brown R. B., McCartney S. 2003. The Internal Exile of Medieval English Jewry. “The Medieval History Journal” 6(1), 55-74.
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Harvey P. D. A., McGuinness A. 1996. A Guide to British Medieval Seals. Toronto.
Hessayon A. 2011. Jews and Crypto-Jews in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England. “Cromohs: Cyber Review of Modern Historiograph” 16, 1-26.
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Marks K. 2014. The Archaeology of Anglo-Jewry in England and Wales 1656-c. 1880. Oxford.
Powell D. 2012. Those Jewish Plumbas. “Leaden Tokens Telegraph” 82 (March/April 2012), 1.
Scholem G. 1949. The Curious History of the Six-Pointed Star. How the “Magen David” Became the Jewish Symbol. “Commentary Magazine” 8, 243-251.
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Elton S. F. 2011. The Bagseal Gallery. Source: http://www.bagseals.org/gallery/main.php. Available on-line 30.06.2023.
Kosher Food Lead Seal – Source: http://www.bagseals.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=4621. Available on-line 24.10.2023.
Murawski I. 2015. Do poszukiwań powinna wystarczyć zgoda właściciela terenu. “Rzeczpospolita” 24.10.2015. Source: https://www.rp.pl/opinie-prawne/art11384621-do-poszukiwan-powinna-wystarczyc-zgoda-wlasciciela-terenu. Available on-line 30.06.2023.
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Relation:

Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae

Volume:

36

Start page:

193

End page:

204

Resource type:

Text

Detailed Resource Type:

Article

Format:

application/octet-stream

Resource Identifier:

0860-0007 ; e-ISSN: 2719-7069 ; doi:10.23858/FAH36.2023.011

Source:

IAiE PAN, call no. P III 348 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P III 349 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P III 368 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

eng

Rights:

Creative Commons Attribution BY 4.0 license

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. [CC BY 4.0] May be used within the scope specified in Creative Commons Attribution BY 4.0 license, full text available at: ; -

Digitizing institution:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Access:

Open