David Pettegrew and I have been visiting a photographing a settlement in the Corinthian countryside. Today we observed a few commonplace examples of what archaeologists call provisional discard. That means discard that occurs in an orderly fashion after an object is no longer needed for its primary use.
Provisional discard is part of the numerous processes through which artifacts become part of the archaeological record from their place in more everyday life.
Oh man. This is so interesting, and I imagine the method of documentation so difficult. What kind of database criteria might one use? Walking through a bunch of different environments this summer (elite Kephisia suburb, industrial Boeotia, Athenian ghetto, Lamia, provincial beach near Stylida) I noticed a consistent aesthetic of disjunction. Much of it was a material disregard for juxtapositions, connections, joints. This ad hoc sensibility--not only in spolia, but also in new constructions--completely disregards any rules of appropriateness (middle class? protestant? western?) A yard accumulation in Appalachian North Carolina, let's say, follows the same principles. So it can't be strictly national or regional.
Posted by: Kostis Kourelis | June 24, 2009 at 09:39 AM