Emotions, Identity and the Supernatural: The Concealed Revealed Project

Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook talk about their work on the Concealed Revealed project, exploring mysterious objects walled into houses.

Owen Davies (University of Hertfordshire) and Ceri Houlbrook (University of Hertfordshire) will talk about their work on the Concealed Revealed project. Doors are at 6pm and the talk will begin at 6.30pm.

Over the years, post-medieval houses have yielded some interesting and mysterious finds. Old shoes up chimneybreasts; garments secreted away in roofs; mummified cats bricked up in walls; horse skulls buried under hearthstones. The natures of their locations confound the theory that they were accidental or incidental deposits; it is much more likely that these objects were being deliberately concealed. However, very little appears to have been written contemporaneously about this practice, and so researchers can hazard only educated guesses as to its purpose. Why were these objects concealed? What were their concealers hoping to achieve? Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook have been considering these questions in their project the Concealed Revealed. By mapping the finds, critiquing the literature, and interviewing modern-day finders, they hope to shed more light on this enigmatic custom. Their talk will outline their work so far.

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