Mytum, Harold 
ORCID: 0000-0002-0577-2064
(2025)
Conflicts in theory and method: Collingwood, Bersu, and the transformation of archaeological knowledge in twentieth-century British internment camps
IMMIGRANTS AND MINORITIES, 43 (2).
pp. 283-319.
ISSN 0261-9288, 1744-0521
Abstract
This article explores the transformation of archaeological knowledge in Britain, analysing the relationship between the German archaeologist Gerhard Besu (1889–1964) and the British philosopher and archaeologist R. G. Collingwood (1889–1943). Looking at their intellectual presence in archaeological knowledge production, it examines Bersu’s role in the development of British archaeological excavation and recording methods in the 1930s and 1940s. Bersu worked on the site of King Arthur’s Round Table, which continued Collingwood’s work on the subject, but undermined Collingwood’s conclusions by showing that his posthole features were animal burrows. This was used by many to critique Collingwood’s deductive and abductive approach to archaeological research, whereas it only challenged his field skills. When Bersu was interned during the Second World War on the Isle of Man, his social and academic capital gave him sufficient agency to continue his archaeological work which solidified his inductive, empirical, realist position. The article concludes by reviewing the way many archaeologists have returned to deductive and idealist approaches in recent years, particularly as applied to the study of internment and prisoner of war camps, revealing the diversity of theoretical approaches now applied in archaeology.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Archaeology, internment, R. G. Collingwood, G. Bersu, realism, Isle of Man |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Jul 2025 09:34 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Jun 2026 19:56 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02619288.2025.2523833 |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.1080/02619288.2025.2523833 |
| Related Websites: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3193686 |
| Disclaimer: | The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate. |
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