‘Does it matter that a monument is a concrete replica rather than an eighth-century original?’ So asks journalist Chris Green in a long read in The i newspaper on 18 July 2020, prompted by the issues raised in our book My Life as a Replica: St John’s Cross, Iona. He also mentions the guidance now published on this website, which we initiated because of our research findings.
Under the heading ‘famous imitations’, his article illustrates and discusses:
- Peplos Kore, Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge, in the care of Dr Susanne Turner, contributor to New Futures for Replicas
- Gardom’s Edge, Derbyshire, subject of research by Dr Katie Mills at Manchester University
- The Coventry Cross, a 1976 concrete replica whose recent relocation caused controversy, noted in Private Eye
- The Hilton of Cadboll replica (illustrating the original), the subject of ethnographic research by one of us (Jones) and cultural biography (Foster and Jones)
- The Llandaff Diptych, two halves ‘reunited’ by combining an original and copy in 2011
- Downpatrick replica of high cross created in 2013, steered by Mike King of Down County Museum.
You can preview the contents and a sample chapter of our book here, and order it with a special offer discount using voucher code REPLICA20 from the publisher here. The first review appeared in Archaeology Scotland for summer 2020 – thank you, Mark Hall!
You may also like to read about the Historic Environment Scotland decision to list the replica at Category A, after we submitted a designation request. See Indira Mann’s article in the Historic Scotland magazine for summer 2020 here.
Sally talks about the book in a short video here. Happy reading!
Dr Sally Foster and Professor Siân Jones, University of Stirling