Paul Barford

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British archaeologist living and working in Warsaw, Poland. Since the early 1990s (or even longer) a primary interest has been research on artefact hunting and collecting and the market in portable antiquities in the international context and their effect on the archaeological record.

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Papers by Paul Barford

Judaica as Portable Antiquities in England and Wales

Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae, Dec 5, 2023

This article examines the use of the database of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) for Englan... more This article examines the use of the database of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) for England and Wales, which records archaeological finds made by the public (particularly metal detector users). The PAS database is generally considered a valuable resource for archaeological research, but its use as such is rarely critically examined. In this case study, artefacts related to the specific material culture of the historically-attested Jewish community in Britain are examined as a potential source of archaeological information about a specific historical social group. The article highlights several challenges in interpreting records deriving from information received from collectors and hobbyists as a substitute for data recovered by archaeological methods. Several false leads and misinterpretations have been identified, and the lack of contextual information for the artefacts is especially problematic. The PAS records are of limited utility as a standalone source of evidence, and cannot lead to meaningful conclusions about Jewish lives in Britain. The artefacts primarily serve as material illustrations of existing written records rather than independent sources of information.

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Contacts across the Baltic Sea during the Late Iron Age (5th - 12th centuries)", Brigitta Hårdh, Bożena Wyszomirska-Werbart (eds.), Lund 1992 : [recenzja] / reviewed by Paul Barford

Archaeologia Polona, 1993

P. M. Barford. The Early Slavs: Culture and Society in Early Medieval Eastern Europe. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2001. xvi, 416 pp. $39.95

Canadian-American Slavic Studies, 2004

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Artefact collecting: creating or destroying the archaeological record?

This paper examines some of the arguments used by archaeologists in favour of collaborating with ... more This paper examines some of the arguments used by archaeologists in favour of collaborating with artefact hunters and collectors who claim that these activities produce information that is useful for archaeological research and is a form of public engagement with archaeology. It takes as a case study records of 48 600 medieval artefacts removed from archaeological contexts by artefact hunters and recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme in England and Wales. The past and potential uses of these records as an archaeological source are objectively reviewed, together with an assessment of the degree to which they provide mitigation of the damage caused to the otherwise unthreatened archaeological record. It is concluded that, although information can be obtained by studying records of findspots of addressed artefacts such as coins, in general the claims made in support of professional archaeological collaboration with this kind of activity prove to be false.

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Reflections on J. Lech's vision of the history of "Polish" archaeology / Paul Barford

Archaeologia Polona, 2002

The Making of Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region c. 500-700

The Slavic and East European Journal, 2005

Introduction, 1. Slavic ethnicity and the ethnie of the Slavs: concepts and approaches, 2. Source... more Introduction, 1. Slavic ethnicity and the ethnie of the Slavs: concepts and approaches, 2. Sources for the history of the early Slavs (c. 500â&amp;amp;quot;700), 3. The Slavs in early medieval sources (c. 600â&amp;amp;quot;700), 4. The Balkans and the Danube limes during the sixth and seventh ...

Oblicza współczesnej archeologii w ujęciu porównawczym. Na marginesie pracy Comparative archaeologies: a sociological view of the science of the past, Ludomir R. Lozny, red., New York 2011

Archeologia Polski, 2012

Ta obszerna (852 strony) publikacja składa się z kilkudziesieciu indywidualnych opracowań zebrany... more Ta obszerna (852 strony) publikacja składa się z kilkudziesieciu indywidualnych opracowań zebranych i wydanych przez Ludomira Loznego (Department of Anthropology, Hunter College, City University of New York). Zbiór ten stanowić ma-w intencji redaktora-"socjologiczne spojrzenie na naukę o przeszłości" w globalnej perspektywie i w kontekście "powszechnie akceptowanego podejścia". Jednym z głównych postulatów omawianego tomu jest wyrażona expressis verbis sugestia, że zadowalające wyjaśnianie różnych trendów w archeologii musi obejmować analizę socjologiczną sposobu, w jaki dyscyplina ta jest zbudowana, wiedzy, jaką wytwarza, i celów, do których zmierza. Celem pracy jest identyfikacja i wyjaśnienie różnic w teoretycznych ujęciach przeszłości społecznej, w działalności praktycznej archeologii oraz analiza roli regionalnych "szkół" wobec bieżących i przyszłych zmian dyscypliny, jej organizacji i funkcji w kontekście procesów globalizacji. Zamierzeniem pracy jest zatem bliższe wniknięcie w konflikt pomiędzy "lokalnymi znaczeniami" a "globalnymi kontekstami" badanych przez archeologię zjawisk. Główny trzon książki stanowi seria 23 studiów zgromadzonych wokół tematyki kilku głównych regionów świata. Około połowa książki jest poświęcona Europie: Zachodniej (s.

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04.01.35, Barford, RESPONSE: Barford on Stephenson's review of Barford

The Medieval Review, 2004

The attestation of analytical laboratory results ina archaeology: a pressing need / Zdzisław Hensel ; transl. by Paul Barford

Archaeologia Polona, 1993

Non-destructive geophysical-archaeological investigations of the site at Tablada de Lurin (Peru) / Krzysztof Misiewicz and Krzysztof Makowski ; transl. by Paul Barford

Archaeologia Polona, 2003

The paper presents the results of resistivity surveying carried out in 2001-2002 at the Tablada d... more The paper presents the results of resistivity surveying carried out in 2001-2002 at the Tablada de Lurin cemetery near Lima in Peru. The research was conducted in association with the Catholic Pontifical University in Lima as part of an intervention and conservation program. The chief objective was to identify the spatial extent of the burial ground and the location of concentrations of two main types of tombs occurring at this site: cist graves and shaft-and-chamber tombs. Geoelectric measurements covered an area of ca. 3 ha, using twin-probe and Wenner arrangements on a meter grid. A test was made of the usefulness of the magnetic method applied as gradient measurements taken with a proton magnetometer. The results provided the grounds for planning further archaeological excavations. Simultaneously, they served to record the actual condition of various features and the potential threats to the ancient substance.

Appendix One. Some Notes On The Translation Of Andrzej Buko’S ‘Archaeology Of Early Medieval Poland’

BRILL eBooks, 2008

Translation of an archaeological work written in one scientific milieu for it to function on an e... more Translation of an archaeological work written in one scientific milieu for it to function on an equal footing in another can produce a number of problems. Besides lexical and semantic issues, the translator is faced with the task of confronting the linguistic manifestations of conceptual divergences between a foreign archaeology and that represented by the target language. There are some fundamental differences in the local traditions of Polish archaeological research and those of the English speaking world. Some of them are self-explanatory but others have required some deliberations about how best to present this text to the English-speaking reader. In general, the tactic adopted has been to make the text as comprehensible as possible to a wider readership rather than using the text to underline the differences in traditions and approaches it unconsciously reveals. Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland was originally written without the intent to have it translated.Keywords:Andrzej Buko; Early Medieval Ages; foreign archaeology; Polish archaeological research

From“Proto-Slavs” to Proto-State

Wiley-Blackwell eBooks, Apr 6, 2009

... Some Polish linguists, however, tried to show that the earliest Slavic-derived hydronyms were... more

Małowiarygodny? Odpowiedź na polemikę Pana Jacka Lecha

Archeologia Polski, 1997

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Średniowieczna ceramika miasta lokacyjnego w Kołobrzegu", Marian Rębkowski, Kołobrzeg 1995 : [recenzja] / reviewed by Andrzej Buko ; transl. by Paul Barford

Archaeologia Polona, 1996

Aspects of cultural definition in Central European prehistory / Paul Barford

Archaeologia Polona, 1996

This article discusses aspects of problems of definition of archaeological cultures mainly in the... more

Old Tribal Customs and Frankish Rituals in the Chronicle of Dudo of Saint Quentin / Wojciech Fałkowski ; transl. by Paul Barford

Quaestiones Medii Aevi Novae, 2011

The wetland revolution in prehistory", Bryony Coles, Exeter 1992 : [recenzja] / reviewed by Paul Barford

Archaeologia Polona, 1992

The Wetland Revolution in Prehistory presents 15 papers delivered at a conference of the same nam... more The Wetland Revolution in Prehistory presents 15 papers delivered at a conference of the same name, at the University of Exeter, UK, in April 1991. The conference aimed to stimulate discussion on whether wetland archaeology has special significance to the study of prehistory, and the book builds on this objective by bringing the subject to a wider audience. Examples from current research projects around the world illustrate the remarkable preservation that gives wetland (or wet-site) archaeology the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the past. Some of the papers explore the theoretical nature of this potential; others describe the kinds of information forthcoming from waterlogged archaeological deposits. In keeping with the broad relevance of wetland archaeology, which cross-cuts geographic, temporal, and topical categories, the publication as a whole addresses archaeologists of all descriptions. Contributions center on European sites (especially in the British Isles and the Baltic region), though North America (Northwest Coast, Florida) and the Pacific (Japan, Papua New Guinea) are also represented. Bryony Coles introduces the volume with an overview of the conference and synopses of the papers, including a few that do not appear in the publication. Geoarchaeologists will especially be interested in the paper by WYadysYaw Niewiarowski, Bozena Noryskiewicz, Wojciech Piotrowski, and Wiedaw Zajgczkowski, who describe the Early Iron Age fortified lake settlement Biskupin, in Poland. Biskupin was excavated from 1934 to 1974 and yielded vast amounts of data. The paper looks at Biskupin from a n environmental and geoarchaeological perspective; illustrations include a geomorphological map of the area, pollen diagrams, geologic profiles, and maps of the palaeohydrography. In a complementary contribution, Wojciech Brezinski gives an up-to-date overview of wetland archaeology in Poland. He reviews sites by chronological period (Neolithic through to Early Medieval), singling out some for individual description. Brezinski notes that many Medieval wetland sites in Poland now sit on "hills" and no longer have waterlogged deposits. He attributes this to a combination of climatic changes and drainage programs that have lowered the water table. The

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Report from the Czersk Meeting, 2006 / English verified by Paul Barford

Archaeologia Polona, 2006

Between the Slavs, Balts and Germans: ethnic problems in the archaeology and history of Podlasie / Paul Barford, Zbigniew Kobyliński, Dariusz Krasnodębski

Archaeologia Polona, 1991

... Titre du document / Document title. Between the Slavs, Balts and Germans : Ethnic Problems in... more

Archeologia Polski T. 45 (2000) Z. 1-2, Recenzje

Archeologia Polski, 2000

Marseille,les ateliers de potiers du XIIIe s. et le Quartier Sainte-Barbe (Ve-XVIIe s.), sous la ... more Marseille,les ateliers de potiers du XIIIe s. et le Quartier Sainte-Barbe (Ve-XVIIe s.), sous la direction d'Henri Marchesi, Jacques Thirot, Lucy Vallauri avec la collaboration de Marie Leenhardt, Archeologie Preventive, "Documents d'archeologie francaise", nr 65, Paris 1997, 388 ss., liczne ilustracje w tekście

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