Howard Williams
I am Professor of Archaeology at the University of Chester. My archaeological research interests focus on death, burial and commemoration, particularly for the early medieval period (c. AD 400-1100) in Britain, NW Europe and Scandinavia. I am interested in the relationships between material culture, monuments and landscape in the construction and negotiation of memories, focusing on mortuary practices. I also explore the roles of portable artefacts, materials and substances, tombs, sculpture, architecture and settlements as media and environments for memory work and performance.
I began my research career investigating the early medieval reuse of prehistoric and Roman monuments before turning to investigate early Anglo-Saxon cremation graves for my doctoral research. Since then, I have pursued a range of themes in early medieval burial studies including the role of funerals in constructing identities. This work has attempted to connect theory, method and data and address cross-disciplinary debates in the study of memory, emotion and personhood, particularly with anthropology and history. You can find papers of mine in edited books and also academic journals.
I have edited one book for Springer International (Williams 2003), co-edited one themed journal edition of World Archaeology and special issues of the journals Early Medieval Europe, Mortality and the European Journal of Archaeology. Also, I have co-edited further books, one for Oxbow (Semple and Williams 2007), the other for University of Exeter Press (Sayer and Williams 2009), one for Boydell (Williams, Kirton and Gondek 2015) and the latest for Oxford University Press (Giles and Williams 2016).
I have also written a book called 'Death and Memory in Early Medieval Britain' published by Cambridge University Press. Details of these are on this site and my SelectedWorks website.
I have sometimes explored mortuary archaeology in periods other than the early Middle Ages. I have investigated monument reuse, ephemeral monumentality and cremation practices of Roman Britain. I have increasingly looked later in time, in one paper considering the relationships between architecture, tombs and burials in later medieval monastic contexts. Most recently, I have been exploring contemporary cremation practices in the UK and Scandinavia. My interests also extend to the archaeology of war memorials resulting in a recent paper co-authored with Samuel Walls. I am currently serving as guest editor for the journal 'Mortality', drawing together a special themed edition on 'Contemporary Archaeologies of Death'.
In recent years, I have developed an interest in public and community archaeology, publishing two co-authored papers for the journal 'Public Archaeology', one with Elizabeth Williams, another with Dr Faye Simpson (Manchester Metropolitan University). More recently, I have published on the display of the ancient dead in modern society in the book 'Mortuary Practices and Social Identities in the Middle Ages' published by University of Exeter Press.
The history and theory of archaeology also interest me, particularly in relation to the early Middle Ages and antiquarian perceptions and practices surrounding death. I have organised conferences and published on these topics including a themed edition of the journal 'Early Medieval Europe', co-edited with Professor Bonnie Effros (University of Florida). I serve as OUP series editor for 'Oxford Studies in the History of Archaeology'.
My work is both library/desk-based and field-based. Regarding fieldwork, I have conducted independent field-visits and research in the UK and Scandinavia. As a fieldwork director, I have been involved in three projects involving archaeological survey and excavation. The first of these was at an Early Bronze Age burial mound with indications of later reuse on Roundway Down, Wiltshire in collaboration with Dr Sarah Semple (University of Durham). As a community and student-training project, I also directed survey and excavations of a medieval manorial complex at Stokenham in the South Hams of Devon incorporating a detailed archaeological survey of the churchyards of Stokenham and Slapton. On the international stage, I co-directed the excavations of a Viking boat-grave at Skamby, Sweden with Dr Martin Rundkvist, now published in 'Medieval Archaeology'. I have developed recent fieldwork projects, at Kingskerswell, Devon and the Pillar of Eliseg near Llangollen in North Wales (with Professor Dai Morgan Evans, University of Chester and Professor Nancy Edwards and Dr Gary Robinson, both of the University of Bangor).
Phone: 01244 513111
Address: Department of History and Archaeology
University of Chester
Parkgate Road
Chester CH1 4BJ
I began my research career investigating the early medieval reuse of prehistoric and Roman monuments before turning to investigate early Anglo-Saxon cremation graves for my doctoral research. Since then, I have pursued a range of themes in early medieval burial studies including the role of funerals in constructing identities. This work has attempted to connect theory, method and data and address cross-disciplinary debates in the study of memory, emotion and personhood, particularly with anthropology and history. You can find papers of mine in edited books and also academic journals.
I have edited one book for Springer International (Williams 2003), co-edited one themed journal edition of World Archaeology and special issues of the journals Early Medieval Europe, Mortality and the European Journal of Archaeology. Also, I have co-edited further books, one for Oxbow (Semple and Williams 2007), the other for University of Exeter Press (Sayer and Williams 2009), one for Boydell (Williams, Kirton and Gondek 2015) and the latest for Oxford University Press (Giles and Williams 2016).
I have also written a book called 'Death and Memory in Early Medieval Britain' published by Cambridge University Press. Details of these are on this site and my SelectedWorks website.
I have sometimes explored mortuary archaeology in periods other than the early Middle Ages. I have investigated monument reuse, ephemeral monumentality and cremation practices of Roman Britain. I have increasingly looked later in time, in one paper considering the relationships between architecture, tombs and burials in later medieval monastic contexts. Most recently, I have been exploring contemporary cremation practices in the UK and Scandinavia. My interests also extend to the archaeology of war memorials resulting in a recent paper co-authored with Samuel Walls. I am currently serving as guest editor for the journal 'Mortality', drawing together a special themed edition on 'Contemporary Archaeologies of Death'.
In recent years, I have developed an interest in public and community archaeology, publishing two co-authored papers for the journal 'Public Archaeology', one with Elizabeth Williams, another with Dr Faye Simpson (Manchester Metropolitan University). More recently, I have published on the display of the ancient dead in modern society in the book 'Mortuary Practices and Social Identities in the Middle Ages' published by University of Exeter Press.
The history and theory of archaeology also interest me, particularly in relation to the early Middle Ages and antiquarian perceptions and practices surrounding death. I have organised conferences and published on these topics including a themed edition of the journal 'Early Medieval Europe', co-edited with Professor Bonnie Effros (University of Florida). I serve as OUP series editor for 'Oxford Studies in the History of Archaeology'.
My work is both library/desk-based and field-based. Regarding fieldwork, I have conducted independent field-visits and research in the UK and Scandinavia. As a fieldwork director, I have been involved in three projects involving archaeological survey and excavation. The first of these was at an Early Bronze Age burial mound with indications of later reuse on Roundway Down, Wiltshire in collaboration with Dr Sarah Semple (University of Durham). As a community and student-training project, I also directed survey and excavations of a medieval manorial complex at Stokenham in the South Hams of Devon incorporating a detailed archaeological survey of the churchyards of Stokenham and Slapton. On the international stage, I co-directed the excavations of a Viking boat-grave at Skamby, Sweden with Dr Martin Rundkvist, now published in 'Medieval Archaeology'. I have developed recent fieldwork projects, at Kingskerswell, Devon and the Pillar of Eliseg near Llangollen in North Wales (with Professor Dai Morgan Evans, University of Chester and Professor Nancy Edwards and Dr Gary Robinson, both of the University of Bangor).
Phone: 01244 513111
Address: Department of History and Archaeology
University of Chester
Parkgate Road
Chester CH1 4BJ
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Books, Edited Books and Special Journal Issues by Howard Williams
Digging into the Dark Ages builds on debates which took place at the 3rd University of Chester Archaeology Student Conference hosted by the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, 13 December 2017. It comprises original perspectives from students integrated with fresh research by heritage practitioners and academics. The book also includes four interviews offering perspectives on key dimensions of early medieval archaeology’s public intersections. By critically ‘digging into’ the ‘Dark Ages’, this book provides an introduction to key concepts and debates, a rich range of case studies, and a solid platform for future research.
This collection provides original perspectives on public archaeology’s current practices and future potentials focusing on art/archaeological media, strategies and subjects. It stems from the 2nd University of Chester Archaeology Student Conference, held on 5 April 2017 at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester: Archaeo-Engage: Engaging Communities in Archaeology.
Tackling questions such as these, osteoarchaeologists and mortuary archaeologists have often found themselves at the forefront of the public engagements for interdisciplinary and archaeological research. This book identifies a series of lacunae in recent discussions of mortuary archaeology’s interactions with contemporary society. It aims to re-evaluate the range and character of public mortuary archaeology critically through a range of case studies from the UK, Europe and farther afield. In particular, this book seeks to address a network of relationships between mortality, material culture and archaeological theory, method and practice through a series of themes that connect the digging, display and dissemination of mortuary contexts and remains with wider popular culture themes and media.
Seeking to challenge simplistic narratives of cremation in the past and present, the studies in this volume seek to confront and explore the challenges of interpreting the variability of cremation by contending with complex networks of modern allusions and imaginings of cremations past and present and ongoing debates regarding how we identify and interpret cremation in the archaeological record. Using a series of original case studies, the book investigates the archaeological traces of cremation in a varied selection of prehistoric and historic contexts from the Mesolithic to the present in order to explore cremation from a practice-oriented and historically situated perspective.
Written from a variety of perspectives, its authors address the experience, effect, ethical considerations, and cultural politics of working with mortuary archaeology. Whilst some papers reflect institutional or organisational approaches, others are more personal in their view: creating exciting and frank insights into contemporary issues which have hitherto often remained 'unspoken' amongst the discipline. Reframing funerary archaeologists as 'death-workers' of a kind, the contributors reflect on their own experience to provide both guidance and inspiration to future practitioners, arguing strongly that we have a central role to play in engaging the public with themes of mortality and commemoration, through the lens of the past. Spurred by the recent debates in the UK, papers from Scandinavia, Austria, Italy, the US, and the mid-Atlantic, frame these issues within a much wider international context which highlights the importance of cultural and historical context in which this work takes place.
Journal Articles by Howard Williams
Digging into the Dark Ages builds on debates which took place at the 3rd University of Chester Archaeology Student Conference hosted by the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, 13 December 2017. It comprises original perspectives from students integrated with fresh research by heritage practitioners and academics. The book also includes four interviews offering perspectives on key dimensions of early medieval archaeology’s public intersections. By critically ‘digging into’ the ‘Dark Ages’, this book provides an introduction to key concepts and debates, a rich range of case studies, and a solid platform for future research.
This collection provides original perspectives on public archaeology’s current practices and future potentials focusing on art/archaeological media, strategies and subjects. It stems from the 2nd University of Chester Archaeology Student Conference, held on 5 April 2017 at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester: Archaeo-Engage: Engaging Communities in Archaeology.
Tackling questions such as these, osteoarchaeologists and mortuary archaeologists have often found themselves at the forefront of the public engagements for interdisciplinary and archaeological research. This book identifies a series of lacunae in recent discussions of mortuary archaeology’s interactions with contemporary society. It aims to re-evaluate the range and character of public mortuary archaeology critically through a range of case studies from the UK, Europe and farther afield. In particular, this book seeks to address a network of relationships between mortality, material culture and archaeological theory, method and practice through a series of themes that connect the digging, display and dissemination of mortuary contexts and remains with wider popular culture themes and media.
Seeking to challenge simplistic narratives of cremation in the past and present, the studies in this volume seek to confront and explore the challenges of interpreting the variability of cremation by contending with complex networks of modern allusions and imaginings of cremations past and present and ongoing debates regarding how we identify and interpret cremation in the archaeological record. Using a series of original case studies, the book investigates the archaeological traces of cremation in a varied selection of prehistoric and historic contexts from the Mesolithic to the present in order to explore cremation from a practice-oriented and historically situated perspective.
Written from a variety of perspectives, its authors address the experience, effect, ethical considerations, and cultural politics of working with mortuary archaeology. Whilst some papers reflect institutional or organisational approaches, others are more personal in their view: creating exciting and frank insights into contemporary issues which have hitherto often remained 'unspoken' amongst the discipline. Reframing funerary archaeologists as 'death-workers' of a kind, the contributors reflect on their own experience to provide both guidance and inspiration to future practitioners, arguing strongly that we have a central role to play in engaging the public with themes of mortality and commemoration, through the lens of the past. Spurred by the recent debates in the UK, papers from Scandinavia, Austria, Italy, the US, and the mid-Atlantic, frame these issues within a much wider international context which highlights the importance of cultural and historical context in which this work takes place.
If indeed from Valle Crucis, the stone is the only known effigial slab commemorating a Cistercian abbot from Wales, and a rare example from Britain. Given that few similar Cistercian abbatial monuments have been identified from elsewhere, the ‘Smiling Abbot’, although only a fragment, is a significant addition to the known corpus of later medieval mortuary monuments. The article discusses the provenance, dating, identification and significance of the monument, including the abbot’s distinctive smile. The stone sheds new light on mortuary and commemorative practice at Valle Crucis Abbey in the early fourteenth century.