Community archaeology and heritage interpretation

Public engagement is a significant feature of twenty-first-century archaeological practice. While more diverse audiences are connecting with the discipline in a multitude of ways, public perceptions of archaeology are still marred by stereotypes. Community excavations of ‘sites’ to discover ‘treasures’ which tell us about the ‘past’ overshadow other forms of public research output and hinder the potential of the discipline to contribute to contemporary society more widely. This paper proposes participatory augering as an active public engagement method that challenges assumptions about the nature of archaeological practice by focusing on interpretation at a landscape-scale. Through exploration of recent participatory augering research by the REFIT Project and Environmental Archaeologist Mike Allen, this paper demonstrates how the public can contribute to active archaeological research by exploring narratives of landscape change. Evaluation of the existing case studies reflects the potential of the approach to engage audiences with new archaeological methods and narratives which have the potential to transform perceptions of the discipline and, through knowledge exchange, drive community-led contributions to contemporary landscape management.

The archaeology of Jewish Medieval burial grounds has been a matter of dispute over the non-disturbance of Jewish human remains by Ultraorthodox Jewish groups. They call for the application of the Halakha, the Jewish religious law, claiming that those graves are of people of Jewish faith. The topic of non-disturbance of human remains by archaeologists may echoes the disputes, claims, and arguments defended by indigenous communities. But I will argue here that the two cases show little resemblance since neither are Jewish people uniquely indigenous in the European context, nor do religious laws govern the management of medieval heritage in Europe. Accordingly, the topic under discussion has little relation to religious claims to ancient heritage nor to the ethics of archaeological practice in relation to human remains, but to the politics of archaeological practice in the contemporary multi religious world. The article seeks to provide a full picture of discussion on the issue of the management of ancient burial grounds in Europe, raising sensitive issues regarding particular religious communities. Here the recommendation given by the Faro Convention will be introduced, but also its limitations discussed when mediating with particular communities and their religious agendas.

Following a recent worldwide boom in the democratization of knowledge,crowdsourcing and Participatory GIS, heritage practice increasingly drawson crowdsourced geographical data. In this paper, I discuss a public crowd-sourcing of twentieth century conflict heritage in Finland, launched by state-owned broadcasting company
Yleisradio
. Here emphasis is on analysing theuser behaviour and incentives, which can inform analogous future initiatives.Many of the public entries mirror local perspectives on conflict heritage: prideof personally importantlociand self-satisfactionappear tobe important incen-tives for taking part. Finally, I summarize themes that other heritage crowd-sourcing organizers could apply to their work

This article is a chronicle of a project that attempted to come to terms with the question "who owns the past" in one  of the most  difficult heritage "laboratories" in  the world-Israel and Palestine. It resulted in the kind of changes that such a project should achieve but which are seldom on the list of objec­tives in the original grant proposal - it was a success in personal terms. Each participant in the project was able to obtain a privileged understanding of the emotion that cultural heritage can generate, even among scholars, and of the ideas that have formed around heritage due to the continuous struggle for a place in this region. Ordinarily, this is the stuff of news articles, street slogans, and political  rhetoric-in  other words, the very things that academics  normally feel alienated from or disregard.

The excavations at the Church of the Glorious Martyr, located in central Israel, were an extraordinary archaeological project undertaken by the Israeli Antiquities Authority. Beginning in 2017, three excavations seasons took place at the site and the vast majority of the excavators were groups of young adults. The motivation to involve teenagers as the excavation’s main workforce was part of a larger nationwide Israeli initiative known as Hanchala (Hebrew for endowment). The movement was developed to increase public awareness, involvement and access to archaeology. During the Church of the Glorious Martyr excavation project, thousands of high-school and post graduate students were employed and more importantly exposed to archaeology. The culmination of the project led to a museum exhibition dedicated to the site that reached the public well beyond the field. This paper will discuss in retrospect the field setup, logistics, problems and ad hoc solutions implemented for community involvement at the site.

In Australia, the community heritage sector – galleries, libraries, archives, museums and historical societies managed by volunteers – plays a significant role in recording and preserving the diversity of Australia’s cultural heritage. However, these community heritage organisations face uncertain futures. This article offers four examples of heritage organisations located in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia which have struggled with organisational sustainability arising from various financial, human, physical, skills, and expertise challenges. We assess some of the common problems threatening the longevity of community heritage organisations and what action is needed to safeguard this sector into the future.

This paper examines alternatives to top-down approaches to heritage management and development. One of the key issues facing communities around the globe today is the Authorized Heritage Discourse (AHD)--the determination of heritage values by “experts” and government officials on behalf of the people. It is all too common to find local people alienated by such practices and searching for ways in which they can take ownership of their own heritage. Community-based research that shares power and is participatory is one avenue that is quickly developing in many regions around the globe. In Africa, a number of villages and other small communities have taken the initiative to preserve and develop their heritage, free of outside control. Important lessons may be drawn from these experiences, particularly the use of discourse-based research that captures how the people define and live out their heritages through everyday practice.

Schmidt, P. R. 2014. Community Heritage Work in Africa: Village-Based Preservation and Development. Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage 14(2):133-150.

Artykuł dotyka zagadnienia społecznego wizerunku archeologa. Problem jak mass media (a szczególnie telewizja i kino) zniekształcają obraz archeologa mieści się w polu zainteresowania archeologicznego nie od dziś. Analizując ten społeczny, zasadniczo stereotypowy obraz archeologa wydaje się sprawą oczywistą, co w takim obrazie jest rzeczywistością a co fikcją. Ujmując to inaczej, nie wydaje się pytaniem nastręczającym wiele problemów oddzielenie prawdy od fałszu w społecznym wizerunku archeologa. Pytanie postawione w artykule jest jednak następujące: co jeśli sprawy nie są aż tak oczywiste i klarowne jak się wydają na pierwszy rzut oka? By postawić obraz w archeologii w nowym świetlne proponuję by archeologia zwróciła więcej uwagi nie tylko na to jak jest prezentowana w kinie, ale również zapytała się, co daje ujęcie archeologii przez kino. Dlatego też głównym punktem odniesienia w tekście jest film pt. Matrix (1999) braci Wachowskich oraz słoweński filozof Slavoj Žižek.

Our paper reflects on the experiences gained, and the expectations aroused, during two research excavation projects in Cornwall where early medieval archaeology is being investigated: at Tintagel Castle, North Cornwall and at St Piran's oratory in mid Cornwall. Both are iconic sites associated in the wider public imagination with larger than life "historical" personages of "Dark Age" Cornwall. Summaries of the results of current excavations are presented alongside testimonies from members of the excavation teams. Keen community involvement and engagement brings a new flush of energy to the fieldwork and research of such iconic and complex sites.

The final chapter to an edited volume on the history of heritage pedagogy and how archaeologists have approached heritage explores my views on the rift between heritage and archaeology. For most nonarchaeologists, archaeology has little to do with their daily lives; some even reject archaeological knowledge. Heritage, on the other hand, is central to identity, to self-esteem, and to daily life. Most archaeologists unfortunately and indiscriminately conflate archaeology with the pasts they study and those pasts, with heritage. Archaeologists need to recognize this divide between relatively low public interest in archaeology and the publics’ nearly universal interest in heritage, figure out why the divide exists, and develop some ways to reduce the distance. This chapter offers a trial hierarchy of heritage awareness and intensity of interest and suggestions for meshing archaeology pedagogy with it.

The 2013–2014 excavation seasons at Tel Akko entailed excavation, pedestrian survey of the mound, a multi-faceted landscape survey of the Akko Plain, and a community outreach program. Highlights include the discovery of iron working smithies dating to the Persian period and new insights regarding Tel Akko and its environs.

Is archaeology of service beyond archaeologists? Applying a symbolic capital/condition framework, this paper details the emerging Research Portal initiative. Part of a Mitacs Elevate Postdoctoral Fellowship developed in conjunction with Sustainable Archaeology: Western and Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc., the Research Portal (www.insituated.com/research-portal) is a web-based platform capable of soliciting and communicating community-sourced research to potential academic partners. Designed to augment local capacities, foster relationships and achieve socially meaningful and disseminated academic outcomes, the Portal inverts conventional community-based research conception. Non-academic organizations outline research objectives to which academic partners adapt or design research. Originally conceived of as a means to assist commercial archaeologists in promoting additional research related to commercial projects, the Portal's pilot implementation quickly expanded to include other heritage communities, including First Nations, not-for-profits and a municipal government. Demand for the inclusion of additional research sectors outside of heritage suggest that this archaeology-based initiative may have wider implications. This paper explores the costs and benefits, and the presumptions and promise, of a more service-oriented and community-driven academic mandate.

The Blackfriary Community Heritage and Archaeology Project (BCHAP), conducted by the Irish Archaeology Field School (IAFS), is a program focused on community focused archaeological excavations at the location of a 13th century Dominican friary in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland. IAFS has attracted students of various skills and backgrounds from around the world to participate in various heritage themed courses such as field archaeology and bio-archaeology. Students are provided in-depth insight into Irish archaeology and culture through experiential hands-on learning, specialized lectures, and tours of various leading heritage sites. The author attended the IAFS in the summer of 2014 and had the privilege of returning as a student assistant in 2015 as a member of the Community Team. The following essay outlines a contextual summary of the Black Friary and its excavation, as well as the importance of the Black Friary project to Trim’s community today.

"In recent years, boundaries between curated domestic space (typically open to the public, maintained by museum professionals, and supported by government or charitable funding), and privately occupied dwellings, have on occasion been eroded. Each year, usually as part of annual heritage events run by non-profit organisations, a small number of residents permit members of the public to view features of historic interest within their homes. Furthermore, extensive opportunities to share information, images, and data on-line allow residents to ‘virtually’ display historical features within otherwise closed domestic spaces.
Adopting approaches from ‘Rescue’, Research, and Public Archaeology, the Living in the Past Community Archaeology Project (LIPCAP) pilots new ways to widen access to historic features, material culture, and related data associated with private domestic buildings. LIPCAP encourages and supports preservation by record, requesting occupants of pre-WWII housing within local communities to record surface garden artefacts and standing building features not ostensibly at risk, as well as to report findings made during home renovations, prior to damage or destruction. This has led to a number of challenges – some of which are familiar to the heritage sector, whilst others are generated afresh, not least due to the voluntary nature of the project."

Definitely, it was not a good day for Theodor Adorno (2005: 25), otherwise great German philosopher, when he honestly admitted in Minima Moralia: ‘Every visit to the cinema leaves me, against all my vigilance, stupider and worse’. What Adorno despised was not only Hollywood movies, but generally, popular culture per se that was part of culture industry. However, it can be said that today there are many interesting things taking place in cinema that can inspire archaeologists. One of them concerns heritage; the subject that is very close to our hearts.

The abundance of the references to the past in the present causes some theoretical problems. In other words, usually analysing different manifestations of the past in e.g. computers games, Hollywood films and so on to much attention is paid only on content (what is presented). Formal aspects of each film, computer game and so on are omitted. I want to explore this problem a little bit in this short text by taking as an example a historical re-enactment movement of the Viking Age.

Archaeology as practiced by anthropologists is no longer only about prehistoric societies. As the world becomes increasingly preoccupied with preserving cultural heritage for future
generations, archaeologists are increasingly shifting their attention from mummies and pottery to contemporary phenomena. Cultural heritage that is worth preserving could be almost
anything: from Stonehenge, through to the pyramids in Egypt, to places where Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings were filmed. Even such places as the ruins of Nazi factories or Soviet
war infrastructure are fragments of our history and can say something significant about our past. In fact, blockbuster films can be just as valid a topic for anthropological investigation.