ABSTRACT
Building materials such as nails, screws and bolts are seemingly uninvolved things, while other finds, such as slag or pebbles, may not even be considered artefacts at all if we understand this term to refer to objects that have been manipulated by humans. They are, so to speak, characterised by a lack of traces of human practice. Yet, I argue that these things had a significant and active role to play in the historical processes we study.
