Gaining Ground

Bomb Rubble, Reclamation and Revenance

Authors

  • Jonathan Gardner Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.25782

Keywords:

bombing, East London football heritage, land reclamation, rubble, waste

Abstract

Vast quantities of waste rubble produced through demolition, natural disasters and conflict form part of the globe-spanning, anthropogenic deposit that has been called the “archaeosphere”. Whilst such material is often considered “waste” and of little value in the immediate aftermath of deconstruction or destruction, rubble rarely remains “wasted” for long and becomes reused in new cycles of construction. While architectural salvage and spolia are relatively well studied, the reuse of demolition rubble in the creation of new terrain (reclamation) is rarely discussed.

Responding to this, I discuss how World War II bomb rubble was used to reclaim ground from Hackney Marsh and Leyton Marsh in East London. This waste material not only provided valuable new terrain for leisure facilities, but also led to a broad array of unexpected and emergent uses and valuations, including as site of footballing heritage and place of remembrance and contestation.

Author Biography

  • Jonathan Gardner, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh

    Jonathan Gardner is an archaeologist and heritage researcher whose work examines the traces of large-scale landscape change, most recently considering the creation of artificial terrain through landfilling and dumping and how this becomes a form of heritage and creative practice.

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Published

2023-10-25

How to Cite

Gardner, J. (2023). Gaining Ground: Bomb Rubble, Reclamation and Revenance. Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 10(1), 25-48. https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.25782