This chapter explores the relationship between medieval magic and religion. It considers the use of objects and material culture in ritual performances that may have been intended to heal, protect and transform the living and the dead. It examines three specific ritual technologies, with particular focus on medieval Scotland: the use of amulets; the deliberate burial or deposition of objects in sacred space; and the placing of objects with the medieval dead.

This chapter reviews recent approaches to the study of place and memory in the monastic landscape, before considering the biography of Glastonbury Abbey (Somerset) in detail. Monasteries were active in creating ritual landscapes as religious imaginaries, interweaving myth, materiality and hagiography. The Dissolution was not an abrupt end to these deeply-held beliefs, but rather a long process of renegotiating the meanings of medieval religious landscapes and their value to early modern communities.

The introductory chapter frames medieval sacred heritage in a global context. The growing interest in sacred heritage is charted and its value is discussed in relation to economic, political, social and spiritual value, drawing on examples that demonstrate the multiple values of sacred heritage to both secular and faith communities. Finally, the theme of heritage value is linked to academic interpretations of the sacred in medieval archaeology, advocating a practice-based approach.

The final chapter examines the role of archaeology in authenticating or challenging modern myths connected with medieval sacred sites. It considers how medieval sacred heritage is used to construct myths connected with nationalist and religious identities and it reflects on medieval sacred landscapes as contested heritage sites which hold multiple meanings to contemporary social groups. Three British case studies are considered: Glastonbury, Walsingham and Iona.

This chapter considers archaeological approaches to the study of later medieval monasticism in Scotland, providing a case study through which to explore the regional character of monasticism and the factors that influence archaeological scholarship today. It reflects on how the construction of archaeological knowledge is shaped by national identity and the contemporary social value that we place on medieval heritage. The chronological focus is on the transition to reformed monasticism in the twelfth century, when Scotland embraced reformed orders of monks, canons and nuns.

Archaeology and material culture are used in this chapter to consider how monastic experience responded to illness, ageing and disability. The approach taken is influenced by the material study of religion, which interrogates how bodies and things engage to construct the sensory experience of religion, and by practice-based approaches in archaeology, which examine the active role of space and material culture in shaping religious agency and embodiment. The archaeology of monastic healing focuses on the full spectrum of healing technologies, from managing the body in order to prevent illness, through to the treatment of the sick and preparation of the corpse for burial.