I have written, edited or co-edited six books, listed below. Please get in contact if you need assistance getting hold of any of them - this applies to all the publications listed on my CV.
Material Cultures of Childhood in Second World War Britain
Gabriel Moshenska
Routledge, 2019
Open Access – download for FREE from here.
How do children cope when their world is transformed by war? This book draws on memory narratives to construct an historical anthropology of childhood in Second World Britain, focusing on objects and spaces such as gas masks, air raid shelters and bombed-out buildings. In their struggles to cope with the fears and upheavals of wartime, with families divided and familiar landscapes lost or transformed, children reimagined and reshaped these material traces of conflict into toys, treasures and playgrounds. This study of the material worlds of wartime childhood offers a unique viewpoint into an extraordinary period in history with powerful resonances across global conflicts into the present day.
Gabriel Moshenska
Routledge, 2019
Open Access – download for FREE from here.
How do children cope when their world is transformed by war? This book draws on memory narratives to construct an historical anthropology of childhood in Second World Britain, focusing on objects and spaces such as gas masks, air raid shelters and bombed-out buildings. In their struggles to cope with the fears and upheavals of wartime, with families divided and familiar landscapes lost or transformed, children reimagined and reshaped these material traces of conflict into toys, treasures and playgrounds. This study of the material worlds of wartime childhood offers a unique viewpoint into an extraordinary period in history with powerful resonances across global conflicts into the present day.
Key Concepts in Public Archaeology
Edited by Gabriel Moshenska
UCL Press, 2017
Open Access – download for FREE from here.
This book provides a broad overview of the key concepts in public archaeology, a research field that examines the relationship between archaeology and the public, in both theoretical and practical terms. While based on the long-standing programme of undergraduate and graduate teaching in public archaeology at UCL’s renowned Institute of Archaeology, the book also takes into account the growth of scholarship from around the world and seeks to clarify what exactly ‘public archaeology’ is by promoting an inclusive, socially and politically engaged vision of the discipline.
Written for students and practitioners, the individual chapters provide textbook-level introductions to the themes, theories and controversies that connect archaeology to wider society, from the trade in illicit antiquities to the use of digital media in public engagement, and point readers to the most relevant case studies and learning resources to aid their further study.
Reviews
'Littered throughout with concise and well-chosen case studies, Key Concepts in Public Archaeology could become essential reading for undergraduates and is a welcome reminder of where archaeology sits in UK society today.'
British Archaeology
‘Key Concepts in Public Archaeology offers a useful compilation of themes and has the advantage of being freely available on the publisher’s platform, giving access to a much-needed resource in a context where most contents are locked away behind a paywall or expensive purchase prices.’
Public Archaeology
‘Key Concepts in Public Archaeology offers an overview of the remarkable diversity of ways UK archaeologists have brought the field to a wide audience of nonprofessionals, many in active roles. Moshenska, the volume editor, offers a succinct but thoughtful definition for public archaeology as “practice and scholarship where archaeology meets the world.”’
American Anthropologist
‘Moshenska has brought together a bevy of talented individuals who have produced a solid introductory text that is accessible in terms of cost and content. The book is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to public archaeology, but it does an excellent job in capturing diverse interfaces between archaeology and the public.’
Historical Archaeology
Edited by Gabriel Moshenska
UCL Press, 2017
Open Access – download for FREE from here.
This book provides a broad overview of the key concepts in public archaeology, a research field that examines the relationship between archaeology and the public, in both theoretical and practical terms. While based on the long-standing programme of undergraduate and graduate teaching in public archaeology at UCL’s renowned Institute of Archaeology, the book also takes into account the growth of scholarship from around the world and seeks to clarify what exactly ‘public archaeology’ is by promoting an inclusive, socially and politically engaged vision of the discipline.
Written for students and practitioners, the individual chapters provide textbook-level introductions to the themes, theories and controversies that connect archaeology to wider society, from the trade in illicit antiquities to the use of digital media in public engagement, and point readers to the most relevant case studies and learning resources to aid their further study.
Reviews
'Littered throughout with concise and well-chosen case studies, Key Concepts in Public Archaeology could become essential reading for undergraduates and is a welcome reminder of where archaeology sits in UK society today.'
British Archaeology
‘Key Concepts in Public Archaeology offers a useful compilation of themes and has the advantage of being freely available on the publisher’s platform, giving access to a much-needed resource in a context where most contents are locked away behind a paywall or expensive purchase prices.’
Public Archaeology
‘Key Concepts in Public Archaeology offers an overview of the remarkable diversity of ways UK archaeologists have brought the field to a wide audience of nonprofessionals, many in active roles. Moshenska, the volume editor, offers a succinct but thoughtful definition for public archaeology as “practice and scholarship where archaeology meets the world.”’
American Anthropologist
‘Moshenska has brought together a bevy of talented individuals who have produced a solid introductory text that is accessible in terms of cost and content. The book is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to public archaeology, but it does an excellent job in capturing diverse interfaces between archaeology and the public.’
Historical Archaeology
Ethics and the Archaeology of Violence
Edited by Alfredo González-Ruibal and Gabriel Moshenska
Springer, 2015
This volume examines the distinctive and highly problematic ethical questions surrounding conflict archaeology. By bringing together sophisticated analyses and pertinent case studies from around the world it aims to address the problems facing archaeologists working in areas of violent conflict, past and present. Of all the contentious issues within archaeology and heritage, the study of conflict and work within conflict zones are undoubtedly the most highly charged and hotly debated, both within and outside the discipline. Ranging across the conflict zones of the world past and present, this book attempts to raise the level of these often fractious debates by locating them within ethical frameworks. The issues and debates in this book range across a range of ethical models, including deontological, teleological and virtue ethics. The chapters address real-world ethical conundrums that confront archaeologists in a diversity of countries, including Israel/Palestine, Iran, Uruguay, Argentina, Rwanda, Germany and Spain. They all have in common recent, traumatic experiences of war and dictatorship. The chapters provide carefully argued, thought provoking analyses and examples that will be of real practical use to archaeologists in formulating and addressing ethical dilemmas in a confident and constructive manner.
Edited by Alfredo González-Ruibal and Gabriel Moshenska
Springer, 2015
This volume examines the distinctive and highly problematic ethical questions surrounding conflict archaeology. By bringing together sophisticated analyses and pertinent case studies from around the world it aims to address the problems facing archaeologists working in areas of violent conflict, past and present. Of all the contentious issues within archaeology and heritage, the study of conflict and work within conflict zones are undoubtedly the most highly charged and hotly debated, both within and outside the discipline. Ranging across the conflict zones of the world past and present, this book attempts to raise the level of these often fractious debates by locating them within ethical frameworks. The issues and debates in this book range across a range of ethical models, including deontological, teleological and virtue ethics. The chapters address real-world ethical conundrums that confront archaeologists in a diversity of countries, including Israel/Palestine, Iran, Uruguay, Argentina, Rwanda, Germany and Spain. They all have in common recent, traumatic experiences of war and dictatorship. The chapters provide carefully argued, thought provoking analyses and examples that will be of real practical use to archaeologists in formulating and addressing ethical dilemmas in a confident and constructive manner.
The Archaeology of the Second World War: Uncovering Britain's Wartime Heritage
Gabriel Moshenska
Pen & Sword Archaeology, 2013
The Second World War transformed British society. Men, women and children inhabited the war in every area of their lives, from their clothing and food to schools, workplaces and wartime service. This transformation affected the landscapes, towns and cities as factories turned to war work, beaches were prepared as battlefields and agricultural land became airfields and army camps. Some of these changes were violent: houses were blasted into bombsites, burning aircraft tumbled out of the sky and the seas around Britain became a graveyard for sunken ships. Many physical signs of the war have survived – a vast array of sites and artefacts that archaeologists can explore - and Gabriel Moshenska's new book is an essential introduction to them.
He shows how archaeology can bring the ruins, relics and historic sites of the war to life, especially when it is combined with interviews and archival research in order to build up a clear picture of Britain and its people during the conflict. His work provides for the first time a broad and inclusive overview of the main themes of Second World War archaeology and a guide to many of the different types of sites in Britain. It will open up the subject for readers who have a general interest in the war and it will be necessary reading and reference for those who are already fascinated by wartime archaeology - they will find something new and unexpected within the wide range of sites featured in the book.
Purchasable here.
Gabriel Moshenska
Pen & Sword Archaeology, 2013
The Second World War transformed British society. Men, women and children inhabited the war in every area of their lives, from their clothing and food to schools, workplaces and wartime service. This transformation affected the landscapes, towns and cities as factories turned to war work, beaches were prepared as battlefields and agricultural land became airfields and army camps. Some of these changes were violent: houses were blasted into bombsites, burning aircraft tumbled out of the sky and the seas around Britain became a graveyard for sunken ships. Many physical signs of the war have survived – a vast array of sites and artefacts that archaeologists can explore - and Gabriel Moshenska's new book is an essential introduction to them.
He shows how archaeology can bring the ruins, relics and historic sites of the war to life, especially when it is combined with interviews and archival research in order to build up a clear picture of Britain and its people during the conflict. His work provides for the first time a broad and inclusive overview of the main themes of Second World War archaeology and a guide to many of the different types of sites in Britain. It will open up the subject for readers who have a general interest in the war and it will be necessary reading and reference for those who are already fascinated by wartime archaeology - they will find something new and unexpected within the wide range of sites featured in the book.
Purchasable here.
Community Archaeology: Themes, Methods and Practices
Edited by Gabriel Moshenska and Sarah Dhanjal
Oxbow, 2012
Community Archaeology is an assessment of the aims, results and validity of the broad spectrum of community archaeology initiatives taking place today. The project arose from a shared belief in cooperation between professional and non-professional archaeologists and the belief that archaeology does not have to take place in private between consenting companies. The 15 papers presented here are startlingly and pleasingly diverse, drawing on the expertise and experience of student archaeologists, academics, professionals, amateurs, educators and independent practitioners. A number of interesting common themes emerge, including general theoretical reflections on the nature and significance of community archaeology, education (which highlights the common concentration on excavation within community archaeology and the concomitant neglect of post-excavation work), funding and sustainability, namely the dichotomy between one-off or medium-term projects that are funded and long-term projects that tend to be staffed by volunteers. As well as the difficulties involved, the collection also highlights the pleasures and emotional dimensions of engaging with material remains of the past.
Purchasable here.
Edited by Gabriel Moshenska and Sarah Dhanjal
Oxbow, 2012
Community Archaeology is an assessment of the aims, results and validity of the broad spectrum of community archaeology initiatives taking place today. The project arose from a shared belief in cooperation between professional and non-professional archaeologists and the belief that archaeology does not have to take place in private between consenting companies. The 15 papers presented here are startlingly and pleasingly diverse, drawing on the expertise and experience of student archaeologists, academics, professionals, amateurs, educators and independent practitioners. A number of interesting common themes emerge, including general theoretical reflections on the nature and significance of community archaeology, education (which highlights the common concentration on excavation within community archaeology and the concomitant neglect of post-excavation work), funding and sustainability, namely the dichotomy between one-off or medium-term projects that are funded and long-term projects that tend to be staffed by volunteers. As well as the difficulties involved, the collection also highlights the pleasures and emotional dimensions of engaging with material remains of the past.
Purchasable here.
Archaeologies of Internment
Edited by Adrian Myers and Gabriel Moshenska
Springer, 2011
The internment of civilian and military prisoners became an increasingly common feature of conflicts in the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Prison camps, though often hastily constructed and just as quickly destroyed, have left their marks in the archaeological record. Due to both their temporary nature and their often sensitive political contexts, places of internment present a unique challenge to archaeologists and heritage managers.
As archaeologists have begun to explore the material remains of internment using a range of methods, these interdisciplinary studies have demonstrated the potential to connect individual memories and historical debates to the fragmentary material remains.
Archaeologies of Internment brings together in one volume a range of methodological and theoretical approaches to this developing field. The contributions are geographically and temporally diverse, ranging from Second World War internment in Europe and the USA to prison islands of the Greek Civil War, South African labor camps, and the secret detention centers of the Argentinean Junta and the East German Stasi.
These studies have powerful social, cultural, political, and emotive implications, particularly in societies in which historical narratives of oppression and genocide have themselves been suppressed. By repopulating the historical narratives with individuals and grounding them in the material remains, it is hoped that they might become, at least in some cases, archaeologies of liberation.
Edited by Adrian Myers and Gabriel Moshenska
Springer, 2011
The internment of civilian and military prisoners became an increasingly common feature of conflicts in the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Prison camps, though often hastily constructed and just as quickly destroyed, have left their marks in the archaeological record. Due to both their temporary nature and their often sensitive political contexts, places of internment present a unique challenge to archaeologists and heritage managers.
As archaeologists have begun to explore the material remains of internment using a range of methods, these interdisciplinary studies have demonstrated the potential to connect individual memories and historical debates to the fragmentary material remains.
Archaeologies of Internment brings together in one volume a range of methodological and theoretical approaches to this developing field. The contributions are geographically and temporally diverse, ranging from Second World War internment in Europe and the USA to prison islands of the Greek Civil War, South African labor camps, and the secret detention centers of the Argentinean Junta and the East German Stasi.
These studies have powerful social, cultural, political, and emotive implications, particularly in societies in which historical narratives of oppression and genocide have themselves been suppressed. By repopulating the historical narratives with individuals and grounding them in the material remains, it is hoped that they might become, at least in some cases, archaeologies of liberation.
