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Anglo Saxon Reuse Of Prehistoric Monumentss

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3.2 Early Medieval Monument Reuse The idea of medieval peoples building on the sites of prehistoric remains in order to create a sense of continuity is not a new one. It has been suggested that prehistoric monuments may have been used in early medieval times as a political tool, incorporating them into newly built sites of power (Bradley 1987, 4-5). While the specific uses of these prehistoric monuments vary regionally, there appears to be an interest in creating associations with the past throughout early medieval Britain. In his influential work on monument reuse, Richard Bradley points to Yeavering as an example: a prehistoric site abandoned and then reused as a burial site in the post-Roman period. He argues that, during a time of “conflict …show more content…

She found that funerary reuse was connected to the emergence of elite groups, appropriating older monuments to create legitimacy (Semple 2009, 33-36). She has, however, also suggested that this may be too simplistic a view, arguing that the reuse of such monuments was to do with the creation of an identity, on a group or family level, creating a common narrative of ancestry (Semple 2013, 60). Semple has also noted the reuse of prehistoric remains in some settlement contexts, albeit briefly (Semple 2003, 164-5). For a systematic study of Anglo-Saxon reuse of older sites in a settlement context, we must look at the work of Vicky

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