Archaeology Magazine - March/April 1985 - 80

The Bookshelf
continued from page 75
the monument. This was complemented
and enriched by the widespread decoration of the massive structural stones,
which has been studied in detail by Claire
O'Kelly, the excavator's wife and coworker. Her corpus of the megalithic art
forms an important section of the book.
Although many of the stones are covered
by an apparently haphazard arrangement of individual motifs, some have an
overall composition which shows exceptional craftsmanship. The entrance
stone, covered in a lavish combination of
spirals and lozenges, ranks as one of the
most accomplished pieces of prehistoric
sculpture.
The excavation was initiated to rescue
the site from the ravages of time, neglect
and the enormous number of tourists
who were a by-product of its importance.
Part of the purpose was to present Newgrange to the public, which was undertaken in collaboration with the Office of
Public Works, the state archaeological
service. The reconstruction of the entrance façade, now an almost vertical
wall of white quartz rising from the tops
of the kerbstones to a height of eight
feet, is a controversial feature and has
startled many visitors. O'Kelly justified
this form of restoration on the basis of
the excavation evidence, and correctly
pointed out that "we have come to equate
the monuments of the past with ruins
and forget that the ruin is the corpse,
not the living body."
Newgrange is surrounded by a now
discontinuous circle of upright boulders,
the Great Circle, which stands between
23 and 55 feet out from the base of the
mound. O'Kelly investigated the form of
the circle and its chronological relationship with the tomb, and established that
originally there were between 35 and 38
stones, although only 12 survive in situ.
He suggested that the circle predated
the construction of the mound, but the
evidence was inconclusive. More recent
work on the site has shown that the
reverse is the case. Indeed, the circle
was erected subsequent to the later Neolithic/Beaker occupation (ca. 2400 b.c. ).
Sadly, Professor O'Kelly died shortly
before his book appeared. It is, however,
a permanent reminder of his exceptional
skill as both excavator and researcher.
Thames and Hudson are to be congratulated on the lavish presentation, which
includes a comprehensive range of illustrations. Newgrange is essential reading
for all those, amateur and professional
alike, interested in Ireland's past and
the prehistory of western Europe. Eoin
Grogan is Research Archaeologist in the
Department of Archaeology, University
College, Dublin and Lecturer in Archaeology at the School of Irish Studies ,
Dublin. From 1980-83 he was Assistant
Director of the excavations at Knowth,
County Meath.
80

Archaeology

About Photography
continued from page 71
the swan since converging lines add excitement to a scene. In the case of perspective, the relationships between large
and small components in the picture add
the illusion of depth. The larger the contrast betweenforegroundand background,
between sizes in proportion to one another and vanishing points, the more
depth and space will play in the overall
composition. In some cases, the most
powerfulpart of a photograph is the false
three-dimensional quality that is added
by the photographer for purely design
related reasons. Sweeping perspectives
that accentuate the use of space can make
a normally mundane scene take on a new
dynamic quality.
Creating

with control

That special relationship between foreground and background can be seen in
photographs that use framing devices
as compositional elements to emphasize
the distance of space (or its limits) within
a constricted area. Framing devices such
as doorways, windows, branches, or any
other prominent design element can be
utilized not only to regulate the differences in light and dark (silhouettes as
framing devices ), but can also be used to
create a format to work with other than
the normal rectangle or square.
The seeing of the pictorial scene in
strictly photographic terms is the most
necessary step the artist must take after
the concept. Fitting the shapes and forms
of the natural world into the format that
will best suit the needs of the particular
subject being photographed will make
or break a good photographic idea. Is
the picture off balance or is it leaning
compositionally in one direction? Are
the components related in a working
theme and is the depth portrayed in the
picture successful or monotonous? Are
the colors handled right? Is the use of
negative space correct? Is there a center
of interest; is there any interest?
Editing the non-essentials in a photograph is a talent in itself. Eliminating
confusing shapes, unnecessary objects,
awkward backgrounds, distracting foregrounds, limiting the perspective to what
is necessary to the pictorial idea are part
of the picture-taking process. The camera can only take a photograph of what
it is pointed at; the photographer must
make the editorial decisions and the artistic reasoning that will make the picture one that was created with control
and insight.
Joseph Marvullo is an international
travel photographer and writer whose
work has appeared in many magazines
and books. His most recent book is
Improving Your Color Photography
(Prentice-Hall , Englewood Cliffs, NJ
1983).

Archaeology Films
continued from page 7 7
rock art, the focus of all this effort, is
only briefly and unimpressively shown.
Ancient Places is a very traditionally
and unimaginatively made film. Its content is appropriate for secondary school
classrooms where, I fear, its style will
be found quite ordinary by sophisticated television and film viewers. This
is most unfortunate, because the message of the film is vitally important, and
the people involved in it care mightily
for the future of rock art. Given the
dearth of good material about rock art
available for the public, however,any effort is welcome. On this level, Ancient
Places can be appreciated as another
addition to the slowly growing number
of tools available to the educator on the
important subject of cultural preservation in a rapidly changing world.
Jo Anne VanTilburg is a Research Associate at the Rock Art Archive, Institute
of Archaeology ' University of California, Los Angeles.
Passport continued from page 67
or whatever. Pack tightly so that there
will be no shifting and wrinkling.
Remember that whatever you'll be
wearing en route, you'll be packing later
on- make sure it will fit. Also, whatever you buy on your trip you'll need to
pack, so it's good insurance to pack a bag
that when collapsed is a small packet.
As for what you'll wear en route, I'm
strictly for comfort on overnight and
long flights. I'm the one you'll see wearing pebbled gray sweat pants with a
bright red shirt and matching gray vest.
If it gets chilly, I pull a long-sleevedgray
sweat top out of my bag to wear. As we
near our destination I'll disappear to slip
out of my grays into white cotton pants,
still with my red shirt. (I always head for
warmer climes. ) Whatever you wear en
route, and you may favor a dressier look,
make sure it's loose and comfortable.
Although we'vebeen talking about air
travel here, pretty much the same goes
for bus and car travel. So- plan ahead,
and have a wonderful trip!
Audrey Allen is a travel writer and
editor based m New York.
Science Scope
continued from page 69
ing of the Great Schools and Masters
(Dover, New York 1960; after 1847original manuscript); R. Giavanoli and B.
Muhlethaler, "Investigation of discoloured smalt," Studies in Conservation 15 (1970): 37-44; R.D. Harley,
Artists Pigments, c. 1600-1835(Butterworth, Boston 1982); B. Muhlethaler
and J. Thissen, "Smalt" Studies in Conservation 14 (1969): 47-61; J. Plesters,
"A preliminary note on the incidence of
discolouration of smalt in oil media,"
Studies in Conservation 14( 1969):62-74.

Archaeology Magazine - March/April 1985

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - March/April 1985