Unearthed: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of the Romano-Celtic Temple on Hayling Island.

Despite acknowledgement of its socio-political importance during the Roman conquest, the temple site on Hayling Island has limited literature regarding the rituals or experience of patrons to the site. This dissertation sought to explore the possibility of understanding the experiences of those in the past by studying the experiences of people today. Although it is not possible to determine exact equivocations between the past and present due to vast temporal, cultural and socio-political differences, similarities could enliven the archaeological record and enrich understanding of past experiences. During the Romano-Celtic period, the temple was a place of pilgrimage and depositional praxis, but today it is buried beneath sunflowers on active farmland and frequently visited by a small community of detectorists, the Solent Metal Detecting Club. They work closely with two key authoritative archaeologists, Dr Anthony King and Graham Soffe, and have close relations with the farmer, Sam, and his family. The ability to conduct this project is a privilege granted by familial connections, as my grandfather was a member of the Club. He passed shortly after the start of this project, and its subsequent formation was emotionally charged. This invited the inclusion of theories that are concerned with experience and emotion, such as phenomenology, alongside ethnographic approaches of interviews and surveys. The cornucopia of data revealed potential similarities between the experiences of people in past and present, affected and influenced by the place, such as connecting with cultures and history, engaging in communal and ritualised praxis, interacting with nature and the weather-world, and reminiscing about family and community. This project serves to scratch the surface of such similarities, showing that there is room for further investigation and justified space for emotion and experience in the study of archaeological sites.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

ma

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Alexander, Danielle Lisa Casling

• D051 Hanes yr Henfyd
• GN Anthropoleg

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2871