TAG2024

Astronomical speculation has been part of megalithic studies since antiquarian times. With the turn of the 20th century, archaeology and archaeoastronomy evolved separately, coming together and splitting apart at different moments. Right now, in the UK at least, the two appear to be converging again. But archaeoastronomy is still rife with controversy and speculation, with the quality of work done by academics varying greatly, with no set standards and giving off the impression that anything goes. Perhaps because of this, the field also attracts non-academic speculation that ranges from the quasi-academic to the ancient aliens crowd.

In this session we want to reflect on the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the relationship between archaeoastronomy and prehistoric archaeology. Has archaeoastronomy provided the missing key to understand prehistoric societies, as is often claimed by amateurs? Are the often-convoluted mathematical expositions and arcane explanations by archaeoastronomers a barrier to dialogue between the fields? Have archaeoastronomers been revolving around the same theoretical and methodological circles instead of evolving with wider archaeological and anthropological approaches? In other words, has archaeoastronomy provided an “evolution”, “convolution” or “involution” of prehistoric studies?

This session will explicitly focus on the broader issue of why there is an apparent lack of interest in archaeoastronomy by some archaeologists, and what is required to fully bridge the gap. We welcome papers that discuss the barriers to collaboration and dialogue, and how to overcome them, as well as papers proposing novel theoretical and methodological developments that may bring the fields together. Case studies will also be welcome but only in so far as they provide examples of broader theoretical and/or methodological considerations.

9:00am | Skyscapes and Archaeology: a reflection on the last decade  | Fabio Silva

9:20am | Bridging the Gap Between Archaeology and Archaeoastronomy: Overcoming Barriers Through Education and Outreach  | Carolyn Kennett

9:40am | Assembling Land and Sky  | Ingrid O’Donnell

10:00am | Excavating the sky  | Matt Leivers

10:20am | Archaeoastronomy and its evolutionary approach to archaelogy   | Tore Lomsdalen

11:00am | How wonder theory can help to understand skyscape archaeological phenomena   | Anna Estaroth

11:20am | Symbols and Theory in Skyscape Archaeology | Nicholas Campion

11:40am | Excavating Neolithic cosmologies: The Cotswold Severn long barrows and their skies – how to combine archaeology and archaeoastronomy within a single model   | Pamela Armstrong

12:00pm | Livestreaming the winter solstice phenomenon from Newgrange— commissioning of work, audience impact and analytics.  | Frank Prendergast

12:20pm | Towards a new "total archaeology"? How to manage sky-associated monuments in their landscape and skyscape contexts.  | Amanda Chadburn

12:40pm | Discussion |

Full paper abstracts available here:
https://tag2024.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tag-2024-session-abstracts-1.pdf