Display, disclosure and concealment: the organization of raw materials in the chambered tombs of Bohuslän

Bradley, R. and Phillips, T. (2008) Display, disclosure and concealment: the organization of raw materials in the chambered tombs of Bohuslän. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 27 (1). pp. 1-13. ISSN 0262-5253 doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0092.2007.00292.x

Abstract/Summary

The Neolithic chambered tombs of Bohuslan on the west coast of Sweden were built out of locally occurring raw materials. These exhibit a wide variety of colours, textures and mineral inclusions, and all were used to contrive a series of striking visual effects. Certain of these would have been apparent to the casual observer but others would only have been apparent to someone inside the passage or the burial chamber. There is no evidence that the materials were organized according to a single scheme. Rather, they permitted a series of improvisations, so that no two monuments were exactly alike. The effects that they created are compared with those found in megalithic art where the design elements were painted or carved, but in Bohuslan all the designs were created using the natural properties of the rock.

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Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/3319
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Social Archaeology
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