Work

The Archaeology of Emptiness? Understanding Open Urban Spaces in the Medieval World

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Using examples from medieval Europe and Africa, an approach to understanding urban open spaces is proposed. We argue that new digital and high-resolution methodologies, combined with interpretive frameworks which stress the affective capacities of the material world, call for a reappraisal of open spaces as places of disruption, creativity, and emergent urbanity. We advance an intensive approach to create a methodological basis on which to reimagine emptiness as a stimulus for interaction, applying Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of smooth/striated space. Key themes are the role of open spaces in the negotiation of power, their capacity to facilitate encounters, and their role as a resource from which distinctive forms of urbanity might emerge. The paper advocates for greater attention to be paid to open spaces in the study of medieval urbanism.

Source: Journal of Urban Archaeology

DOI: 10.1484/j.jua.5.126601

Authors: Ben Jervis, Paweł Cembrzyński, Jeffrey Fleisher, Dries Tys, Stephanie Wynne-Jones