The Artifact as Interviewer: Experimenting with Oral History at the Ovenstone Miners’ Cottages Site, Northumberland

Abstract

The authors introduce a new artifact-centered oral-history methodology and describe its use in interpreting finds from the 19th-century midden associated with a row of cottages at Ovenstone, Northumberland. The history of settlement and excavation at Ovenstone are described, and the evolution and development of the artifact-centered approach is explored. Four case studies are presented in order to illustrate some of the ways in which oral testimonies have informed the interpretation of artifacts from the Ovenstone midden. Each of these examples draws directly on the memories and experiences of community elders who were interviewed for the Ovenstone Project between 2009 and 2012.