A world apart? Translating the archaeology of the sacred in the modern world

• Published in: World archaeology Vol. 44; no. 3; pp. 342 - 358
• Main Authors: O'Sullivan, D. M., Young, R. L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.09.2012; Routledge Journals; Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: 21st century; Anuradhapura; Archaeological methodology; Archaeological research; Archaeological sites; Archaeology; Architecture; Asian religions; Belief & doubt; Buddhism; Buddhist; Buddhists; Buddism; Comparative studies; England; Faith; General subjects. History of religions. Religious anthropology; heritage; Hindu; Hindus; History and sciences of religions; Ideology; Inheritance; Jewish; Landscape architecture; Leicester; Material culture; Monuments; multicultural; place of worship; Religion; Religious buildings; Religious institutions; Religious practices; Sacred; Sikh; Sikhs; Studies in religion; Stupas; Temples; Translation; United Kingdom; Urban areas; England; Leicester England; Buddhist; ideology; Hinduism; heritage; Leicester; Jewish; religion; Archeology; Buddhism; Place of worship; Religious practices; Anuradhapura; Sikh; Sikhism; Hindu; archaeology; translation; multicultural; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0043-8243; 1470-1375
• DOI: 10.1080/00438243.2012.735061

In this paper, based on our collective project Mapping Faith and Place in Leicester, we offer some discussion of ways in which archaeologists can engage with ideas of the sacred, through an exploration of a contemporary landscape of belief in an urban context. Moving beyond traditional archaeological and architectural descriptions of buildings, the relationship between faith and place is investigated using the concept of translation as a way of engaging with changes and developments in the realization of belief. We argue that this new approach is a very helpful way of understanding the material outcomes of religious faith. The study has considerable implications for the ways in which religious beliefs are now approached by many archaeologists. It is argued that we need to engage more carefully with classificatory architectural paradigms and recognize the importance of religious faith in the construction of the everyday. The inadequacies of 'classic' archaeological approaches to religion via monuments are highlighted.