Mixed Methods in Landscape Archaeology: An Application to Explore Identity Formation in the Romano-British Period, Shropshire Region

Abstract

This article proposes a novel methodology designed to identify past/ancient identities from archaeological information available in rural landscapes. It consists of a quantitative stage based on network analysis followed by a qualitative analysis based on phenomenology. Such methodology contributes to the field of mixed method research in two ways. First, in contrast to existing approaches that use people’s opinions to collect data, the proposed methodology extracts information from archaeological remains and the landscape; second, it extends the scope of topics considered by the field of mixed method research. The methodology was applied to the study of identity evolution in the Romano-British period in Shropshire. The results illustrate the potential of the proposed methodology to understand the formation/evolution of past identities.