Resources & Links
If you are looking for more information on deliberately concealed garments, my writing adventures, or resources to use for study, then you can find everything here. This page will be continuously updated, so make sure to check back later!
In my research, you will often find that I refer to different sources, some of which I have covered in their own posts. If you are looking for something in particular though, you will be able to find it here in this list, so that you can continue the search for knowledge and see what academics are saying on the subject.
This list is divided into different sections: My Stuff, Websites, Books, Articles and Journals, Archives and Collections, and Advice for Care of Deliberately Concealed Objects. Subjects covered include dress history, the archaeology of ritual and magic, textile conservation, the history of emotions, and material studies.
Enjoy your reading!
My Stuff
Here are links to things I have created. One though is not included here and that is my Substack! Hopefully this list will continue to grow, but for now enjoy!
My Tumblr: Hidden Within These Walls
My Instagram: @ruthkaran8
My Email: hiddenwithinthesewalls@substack.com
On Medium: @ruthkaran
My MA Dissertation: ???
Websites
There are plenty of websites out there that have been made by academics detailing information on deliberately concealed garments and other objects, with insights on objects, places, and further information. Outreach to the public and their role in the discovery of deliberately concealed objects is an incredibly important part of the research into this subject, but also for the conservation and preservation of these objects upon discovery and for the years to come after. Spreading awareness of these objects and the possibilities that lay in wait to be found during renovations and building works is the focus of many of these websites.
Author Brian Hoggard's website about his research into the 'archaeology of counter-witchcraft' and his Hidden Charms bi-annual conference.
Inner Lives: Emotions, Identity, and the Supernatural 1300-1900 Blog
A research project branched into three studies of how identity, emotions, and the supernatural intertwine through historical experiences and the inner lives of people spanning from the medieval to modern periods.
The Concealed Revealed Blog by Ceri Houlbrook
The Concealed Revealed project and Historypin collection keeping updated on finds of deliberately concealed objects by archaeologist Ceri Houlbrook.
The Deliberately Concealed Garments Project (DCGP) by Dinah Eastop
Here you will find more information about the DCGP with a small collection of objects, caches, and a list of publications to read and discover more by the textile conservator Dinah Eastop.
Books
Here are some recommendations for further reading on the subject.
Broomhall, Susan. Early Modern Emotions: An Introduction. London: Taylor and Francis Group, 2016.
As is says in the title, an introduction for students on the varying fields of research into the history of the emotions with a focus on the early modern period.
Hamling, Tara and Richardson, Catherine. Early Modern Objects: Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture and its Meanings. London: Taylor and Francis Group, 2015.
A focus on the objects representative of early modern life and the household through a collection of essays.
Hutton, Ronald. Physical Evidence for Ritual Acts, Sorcery and Witchcraft in Christian Britain: A Feeling for Magic. London: Palgrave, 2015.
A collection of essays from many different scholars on the varying ritual practices practiced from the medieval to modern periods, including apotropaic devices and deliberately concealed objects.
Merrifield, Ralph. The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic. London: Butler and Tanner, 1987.
Archaeologist who paved the way for research into the archaeology of folklore, ritual practices, and magic and the supernatural.
Taylor, Lou. The Study of Dress History. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002.
An illumination of dress history studies as an academic field and the multi-disciplinary approaches used for academic study.
Articles and Journals
Here are some recommendations for further reading on the subject. Some have links and others don’t as they are not all freely accessible to read by the public.
Swann, June. 'Shoes Concealed in Buildings.' Costume 30, no.1 (January 1996): 56-69.
This article can be found in Hutton's Physical Evidence for Ritual Acts (see Books) and can also be freely found here. June Swann's initial research into deliberately concealed shoes brought attention to this ritual practice as an intentional phenomena.
Houlbrook, Ceri. 'Ritual, Recycling and Recontextualization: Putting the Concealed Shoe into Context.' Cambridge Archaeological Journal 23, no. 1 (2013): 99–112.
This is the first article I ever read about this subject and neatly covers many aspects of deliberately concealed garments/shoes.
Randles, Sarah. 'Material Magic: The Deliberate Concealment of Footwear and Other Clothing.' Parergon 30, no. 2 (2013): 109-128.
Archives and Collections
There are some museums out there where you are able to view deliberately concealed objects, which are featured in their collections. Links to individual objects found in collections may also be listed here.
The Concealed Revealed Historypin Collection by Ceri Houlbrook
The Concealed Revealed Shoe Index at the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery
Advice for Care of Deliberately Concealed Objects
If you are looking for guidelines and information on how to care for a deliberately concealed garment or object that you have found, you can follow these useful links on the conservation, care, and preservation of these fragile objects. If you don’t find what you are looking for, you can contact me via the email provided and I would be glad to answer your questions and point you in the right direction.
For concealed shoes: click here for the care of concealed shoes and here for what to do if you have found one.
You can Report a Find on any of the websites currently listed at the top of this page.
You can always contact your local museum or resource centre and go through the process of submitting an object to their collections.
Elsewhere on the Internet
Here are some recommendations of videos, podcasts, news stories, or anything that catches my eye in relation to the subject of deliberately concealed garments.
Gone Medieval by History Hit: How to Spot Magic in Medieval Buildings
A podcast episode of Gone Medieval with Brian Hoggard about the many ways in which people warded themselves and their homes against witchcraft.
A feature article in The Past about the Reigate Witch Bottle. Witch Bottles were a seventeenth century ritual object to ward against, as you might have guessed, witches.