In this paper we present a proposal for the creation of a standardized evaluation model for participatory/public/community archaeology and heritage initiatives. The proposal is the result of ...discussions during a Spring School that the University of Padua and the MAG Museum of Alto Garda, Italy, organized between 9 and 15 April 2018. The Spring School brought together international practitioners to compare experiences and share visions for the sustainable future of archaeology and heritage management. We reflect on the process of bringing together our thoughts and views into one place, and on the theoretical and practitioner contexts that inform our proposed model. The model is intended for researchers and practitioners planning to carry out archaeological and heritage projects with communities. We invite readers to try using some or all of the sections of the model in their own work and to contribute to further refinement of the approach.
The immediate past has been of interest within Polish archaeology only very recently. Research was first undertaken in 1967 and was incidental, tending not to change the general view of ...archaeologists focused on periods spanning prehistory to the Middle Ages, and then gradually adding the 17th and 18th centuries. A permanent change came in the 1990s with the emergence of development-led archaeology in Poland. Excavations preceding construction of motorways and other infrastructure projects revealed relics dating back to 1800-1945 on an unprecedented scale. Initially, insufficient historical knowledge made archaeological research particularly difficult. Now, after a few decades, this pioneer era is coming to an end, and there are archaeologists focusing mainly on the contemporary period e.g. archaeology of armed conflicts in the broadest sense of the term or narrowly specialised forensic archaeology.
The Brandenburg State Archaeology Museum has been conserving and analysing relics of war and terror for 25 years, and as a result of this work archaeology is now an integral part of Nazi camp ...research (Kersting et al. 2016a; Theune 2018). Many camp sites have been investigated, including concentration camps and their subcamps, forced labour camps, and prisoner-of-war camps (Kersting 2020; 2022). While most objects of an industrial culture of the 20th century can be quickly assigned a function, functions do change. Such a shift is a characteristic of Nazi camp finds and reflects their context of bondage and deprivation. The identification of the functions of material remains enables their association with different spheres of life in the camp, so that both perpetrator and victim groups are documented archaeologically. Moreover, these finds serve as tangible evidence to refute any relativisation of the crimes.
Los arqueólogos profesionales son aquellas personas que viven del ejercicio liberal de la Arqueología. Resulta preocupante que se haya convertido en un tópico señalar que la Arqueología profesional ...está en crisis. Las causas podrían resumirse en tres. En primer lugar, sus practicantes desempeñan un difícil papel intermedio entre las administraciones culturales, por un lado, y los promotores, por otro. De la primera dependen para desarrollar las actividades que son encargadas por los segundos, quienes lo hacen no por convicción sino para satisfacer las obligaciones impuestas normativamente. Una segunda causa de insatisfacción procede de la dejación, por parte de las administraciones culturales, de algunas de las responsabilidades sobre la Arqueología preventiva en manos de los promotores y propietarios de suelo, como aplicación del neoliberalismo más descarnado. Por último, la relación con la administración cultural normalmente resulta fluida, pero ello no evita los tiempos, en muchas ocasiones inexplicables, que la burocratización ha impuesto para culminar trámites, como el de las autorizaciones de actividades arqueológicas. En este trabajo identificamos estas tres circunstancias como el problema de la Arqueología profesional y la causa del malestar de quienes la practican, pero también proponemos una solución para resolver esos desajustes que, lejos de ser coyunturales, se han vuelto sistémicos en la gestión de la Arqueología preventiva y, por tanto, imposibles de atajar si no se cambia de modelo.
This paper underscores the critical need for open data practices in archaeo-historical research, particularly in the face of limited historical data availability, especially in underrepresented ...regions. Our study was conducted within the framework of the PERAIA project, which introduced an innovative approach by creating an open data database and web application to enhance data accessibility and reusability. This platform offers a comprehensive gazetteer that covers archaeological and heritage sites within the Eastern Mediterranean area (Crete and Marmarica) spanning Late Prehistory and Antiquity. To achieve this, we employed a digital research methodology that integrated legacy data with systematic aerial and satellite imagery analysis. This integration allowed us to identify previously known and unknown sites, enriched with associated (meta)data. Our commitment to open science is embodied in our open data practices. We also make the data accessible through Zenodo, ensuring that such data are available for potential reuse.
Understanding the public by analysing the wants, interests and expectations regarding their involvement in archaeology is one of the strategic aims of Europae Archaeologiae Consilium (EAC). Cultural ...heritage has been the topic of several public opinion polls in Poland over the past few years. In 2011 and 2015, the Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa (National Institute of Cultural Heritage) carried out two representative surveys. Subsequent polls focusing on more specific issues or groups of respondents were undertaken in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Other data from Poland come from the 2017 Special Eurobarometer survey on cultural heritage. They can be contrasted with archaeology-orientated opinion polls: a Europe-wide survey carried out within the NEARCH project led by Inrap (French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) and several smaller-scale projects, which might be treated as starting points for more representative research.
The scope of these surveys includes: public perception of cultural heritage and archaeology, subjective value of cultural heritage, attitudes towards archaeology, relevance of archaeology for the present (also in terms of the socio-economic potential of archaeological heritage), people's interaction with archaeology and archaeological heritage, sources of information about archaeological heritage etc.
Comparison of these data will serve to establish the relevance of surveys for archaeological heritage management. The author will also examine if the specific nature of archaeological heritage is reflected in the surveys and how the public feels about its most hidden heritage. Based on the results of her analysis, the author will look at the desired scope of a survey aimed at filling the identified gaps and shaped to fit the needs of evidence-based archaeological heritage management.
Anthropogenic and environmental processes present unique challenges for preserving cultural heritage in North Africa. Large parts of this region are characterised by unfavourable arid and semi-arid ...conditions and rapid changes to the landscapes caused by heightened regional development (e.g., urban expansion, road building, agricultural intensification, and socio-political conflicts). As a result, we are facing a fast-paced disappearance of heritage sites in regions that are still poorly understood. Following this, the utilisation of Earth observation data through aerial photographs and satellite imagery has emerged as an unmatched tool in the exploration of endangered archaeological heritage. Drawing on this context, this paper underscores the critical significance of incorporating digital research methods, such as remote sensing, GIS, or cartographic analysis, to ensure the evaluation and (digital) preservation of the historical sites along these vulnerable areas. Furthermore, our study seeks to provide new insights into data management and dissemination, fostering open research practices within North African archaeological research.
The concept of archaeological heritage management (AHM) has been key to wider archaeological research and preservation agendas for some decades. Many universities and other education providers now ...offer what is best termed heritage management education (HME) in various forms. The emphasis is commonly on archaeological aspects of heritage in a broad sense and different terms are often interchangeable in practice. In an innovative working-conference held in Tampere, Finland, we initiated a debate on what the components of AHM as a course or curriculum should include. We brought together international specialists and discussed connected questions around policy, practice, research and teaching/training, at local, national, transnational and World Heritage levels. In this article we take the Tampere discussions further, focusing especially on the meaning, necessity, implications and prerequisites of interdisciplinary HME. We offer our thoughts on developing HME that reflects the contemporary aspects and needs of heritage and its management.
This article is a follow-up to discussions held in the EAC Heritage Symposiums, and aims to answer one of the basic questions regarding the reasons for commencing any archaeological fieldwork. The ...subject is approached from the archaeological heritage manager's viewpoint, and question-driven fieldwork is understood here as scientific, as opposed to preventive and development-led archaeology. Basing my arguments mainly on the experiences of Polish archaeology, I argue in favour of the development-led research. It has been shaping European archaeology to the highest degree for several decades, and therefore should not be considered inferior or secondary. Considering the quality gap between purely scientific and development-led fieldwork, there is still a lot to be improved regarding the scope of research and its standards. Nevertheless, it still seems to have the highest potential for systemic heritage management consistent with the rules set out by the Valletta Convention and the Lausanne Charter (PDF), and for the development of archaeology as a science. Development-led archaeology is also the closest to the public and forces archaeologists to cooperate with various stakeholders.
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