Michael Shanks - site 2006: Tim Horan

Back to 2006 Dunstanburgh Project

tphoran@stanford.edu

Hello. My name is Timothy Horan, but I much prefer Tim. I live in Toyon high up on the third floor. Most of my free time is spent watching television or movies, and I will most likely major in economics and minor in Archaeology. On a side note, I highly recommend the basic Pre-History Archaeology class offered at Stanford for anyone else who is interested in Archaeology. Anyways, I hope to get to know everyone in Eight Great Sites.

New Grange, Ireland 3200 B.C.

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Dealing With Place - Rouen Cathedral

Rouen Cathedral is located west by northwest of Paris. It was originally completed in 1063, and has been seen by millions if not billions of people over time. However, these are many factors when it comes to seeing a site. Monet painted more than thirty oil paintings of Rouen Cathedral. His impressionist style made for very interesting estimated images of the site, which the average visitor could not extract from the actual cathedral. This expertise of Monet creates a whole new way to look at Rouen Cathedral. Other than great artistic ability Monet took into account light. He painted during different seasons and different times of day, allowing him to create many unique paintings of the same place.

A lot can be learned from Monet’s experience at Rouen Cathedral in relation to site reporting. A certain expertise can make a huge difference when it comes to how an individual sees a sight. For example, a photographer of Rouen Cathedral today would create very different images than Monet. Neither image is better or worse, but a more thorough site report would include both. Furthermore, the influence of light and season on a site is easy to be over looked. However, as we have seen at Stone Hendge and at Rouen light and season can really change the characteristics or a site, and a good site report should account for these factors.

Rouen Cathedral: Full Sunlight, 1894 Claude Monet Uploaded Image

Rouen Cathedral: Dull Weather, 1894 Claude Monet

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Rouen Cathedral: Full Sunlight Harmony in Blue Claude Monet

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Rouen Cathedral

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Contribution to the Final Presentation

For my part of the Dunstanburgh 2006 project, I will start by examining the sensual aspects of smell, sound, and partially sight. Also, I will thoroughly examine the industries of the middle ages, the art, the beginning and ending of feudalism, and finally the history of archaeology at Dunstanburgh. Each of these examinations will take the form of a visitor. For example, the study of medieval art will be facilitated by a fictional artist who has been commissioned to improve the overall artistic appeal of Dunstanburgh.

Thoughts on the Experience
When I first began working on the website, I had my doubts on the validity of such a project. I basically underestimated the difficulty and time commitment required. For example, I began working on the Shipbuilding page and figured it would not take long to describe the evolution of medieval ships. I was wrong. It took a good amount of time, every page I made a page I thought of a new link. Quickly the small page became very in depth.

Despite the time commitment, the journey of the project was wonderful. One of my least favorite parts of writing long papers is the necessity to explain complicated topics in a complete but more importantly stylistic manner. The wiki eliminated the need to write long paragraphs which could be explained in three or four bullets. The ease of exploring divergent ideas allowed me to explore many more areas of medieval life. In fact, I feel my many offshoots rather than a single focus is one of the weaknesses in my part of the project.

Anyways, I enjoyed the experience and I appreciated the opportunity and the incredible amount of insightful help. Thank you Michael, Megan, and Chris.

Tim's Pages