Alternative icons: rethinking symbols of power in the ‘World of Stonehenge’

Garrow, D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3164-2618 and Wilkin, N. (2024) Alternative icons: rethinking symbols of power in the ‘World of Stonehenge’. Antiquity. ISSN 1745-1744 doi: 10.15184/aqy.2024.71

Abstract/Summary

This debate paper addresses a fundamental issue for archaeology: how we choose to represent the past through museum displays. It argues that current debates surrounding decolonisation and the democratisation of display are a critical issue for prehistoric collections as well as more recent material. The objects most likely to stand for prehistory in the popular imagination are a restricted group of iconic things. Made of precious, skilfully worked materials, they are often interpreted as reflecting social status rather than anything more personal or spiritual. Here we outline the findings of an experiment in displaying objects with more representative messages within the British Museum’s 2022 ‘World of Stonehenge’ exhibition.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/114720
Identification Number/DOI	10.15184/aqy.2024.71
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
Uncontrolled Keywords	museums, exhibitions, prehistory, decolonisation, public archaeology, power, Stonehenge
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
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