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Divided Places: Phenomenology and Asymmetry in the Monuments of the Black Mountains, Southeast Wales

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2002

Vicki Cummings
Affiliation:
School of History and Archaeology, Cardiff University, P.O. Box 909, Cardiff, CF10 3XU, Wales; CummingsVM@cardiff.ac.uk.
Andrew Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK .
Aaron Watson
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, P.O. Box 218, Reading, RG6 6AA, UK .

Abstract

Recent years have seen increasing interest in the experience of prehistoric monuments. This article explores the possibility that the construction and experience of early Neolithic chambered cairns in South Wales was grounded in principles of asymmetry and sidedness. This was reflected in their landscape setting, architecture, and was actively drawn on through time in patterns of structured deposition. Ultimately, we conclude that the differences between symmetry and asymmetry may have played an integral role in the conception of place in the British Neolithic.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2002 The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research

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