Gordon Childe Lecture 2024

Speaker: Richard Bradley (Emeritus Professor, University of Reading)

• Welcome by Kevin MacDonald (Professor of African Archaeology and Director, UCL Institute of Archaeology)
• Vote of Thanks by Andrew Reynolds (Professor of Medieval Archaeology, UCL Institute of Archaeology)

Abstract

For Gordon Childe deposits of intact or broken metalwork were a key component of the European Bronze Age. They shed light on the important role played by smiths in the processing of ores and the distribution of valuable objects. More recent work has extended his analysis in two ways. Firstly, it is obvious that the artefacts found in hoards also occur in graves, and that some of the same types were deposited in rivers and lakes. And, secondly, these practices extended to other materials and other periods. They began as early as the Mesolithic phase and retained their importance into the early medieval period and even after. The lecture will review some of the main ways of interpreting these finds and will extend from late prehistoric hunter gatherers in Scandinavia to the curious behaviour of a retired archbishop during the 1980s. 

[This event took place on 15 May 2024, 6pm] 

• Richard Bradley’s staff profile (University of Reading)
• Image: A book illustration by the Victorian artist Daniel Maclise showing King Arthur receiving his sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake (Image courtesy of Prof Bradley)

Gordon Childe Advanced Seminar 2024 -Response to Gordon Childe Lecture and Panel Discussion 

Chair: Andrew Reynolds (Professor of Medieval Archaeology, UCL Institute of Archaeology)

Participants:  Andrew Gardner (Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire, UCL Institute of Archaeology), Melanie Giles (Professor in European Prehistory, The University of Manchester), Mark Lake (Professor of Computational Archaeology, UCL Institute of Archaeology), Mike Parker Pearson (Professor of British Later Prehistory, UCL Institute of Archaeology) and Leslie Webster (former Keeper of Prehistory and Europe, The British Museum). 

[This event took place on 16 May 2024, 2pm]

Institute of Archaeology events

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