The relationship between the living and the dead - Contemporary interaction and deposition at mortuary sites as Intangible Cultural Heritage? How this illustrates collective memories and identities in North Wales
Authors
Bound, Scott L.Advisors
Williams, HowardCapper, Morn
Publication Date
2018-10-10
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The way in which the living interact with the past in the contemporary is ever-changing. New mortuary practices and forms of commemoration are formed by different groups and cultures, expressing the way in which they perceive death and so life. This interaction can be studied through the contemporary depositions and archaeological evidence left at sites, however, this has seen little coverage heritage and mortuary studies. Given the recent acknowledgement of intangible cultural heritage as an existing element of society within British heritage management these practices that exemplify interaction with ancestral, national or collective memories and identities could be protected or promoted by governing bodies. This thesis therefore aims to highlight such contemporary practices by giving close study to the three mortuary sites that experience this in North Wales, and the forms of intangible heritage that become evident from this. Bryn Celli Ddu passage tomb in Anglesey; Gelert's Grave fictitious dog grave in Snowdonia; and St Winefride's Well site of pilgrimage in Holywell all illustrate these practices, illustrating differing cultural group's formation of memory and identity in the process. By utilising the work on heritage established by Smith on authorised heritage discourses and outstanding universal value, and Houlbrook and Wallis' research on contemporary depositions this thesis expands on the already established, yet young, discourses, providing new information on a particular context within the United Kingdom. This thesis successfully highlights this, illustrates their importance as contemporary expressions and forms of heritage, and briefly sees the function of these within British governance.Citation
Bound, S. L. (2018). The relationship between the living and the dead - Contemporary interaction and deposition at mortuary sites as Intangible Cultural Heritage? How this illustrates collective memories and identities in North Wales. (Masters thesis). University of Chester, United Kingdom.Publisher
University of ChesterType
Thesis or dissertationLanguage
enCollections
The following license files are associated with this item:
- Creative Commons
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International