ABSTRACT The use of destruction in the past, its purpose and function, is poorly understood and an under-studied area. With hundreds of excavations at castles, there is a body of archaeological evidence that can be synthesised into a study of destruction. Slighting is the damage of a high-status structure, its associated landscape and contents to degrade its value. This article aims to bring the study of destruction into the established discourse of castles and medieval archaeology. It does this by establishing a methodological framework for understanding slighting and examines its application at key sites. In doing so, a chronology and geography of slighting is produced, along with a rich understanding of how and why castles were destroyed in the medieval period. Case studies of Weston Turville (Buckinghamshire) and Degannwy (Caernarfonshire) are used to explore how the archaeological and historical records interact and can be used to corroborate each other. By examining the archaeology of destruction, a new interpretation of slighting has been advanced, understanding it as an activity rich in social meaning with implications beyond the study of castles and the medieval period.

中文翻译：

---

轻视考古学：解释中世纪城堡破坏的方法论框架

摘要 过去对破坏的使用、其目的和功能知之甚少，并且是一个研究不足的领域。通过对城堡的数百次挖掘，有大量考古证据可以综合成对破坏的研究。轻微损坏是对高级结构及其相关景观和内容的破坏，从而降低其价值。本文旨在将破坏研究带入城堡和中世纪考古学的既定话语中。它通过建立一个方法框架来理解轻视并检查其在关键地点的应用来做到这一点。在这样做的过程中，产生了轻视的年表和地理，以及对中世纪时期城堡如何以及为何被摧毁的丰富理解。Weston Turville（白金汉郡）和 Degannwy（卡那封郡）的案例研究用于探索考古和历史记录如何相互作用，并可以用来相互证实。通过对破坏考古学的研究，人们提出了对轻视的新解释，将其理解为一种具有丰富社会意义的活动，其意义超出了对城堡和中世纪时期的研究。