Introduction
If you know about archaeology, you must have also heard about public archaeology too. General people are allowed to visit many Archaeological sites. In many countries, archaeological sites are used to attract many tourists all around the world. Unfortunately, sometimes the historical or archaeological sites or places are harmed by careless people.
In this article, I am going to talk briefly about what is public archaeology, how it functions and the problems related to public archaeology.
What is Public Archaeology
Public archaeology is the practice of providing archaeological information to the general public. It is also known as community archaeology in the United Kingdom. However, there is little difference between public archaeology and community archaeology.
Public archaeology aims to inform people about important archaeological discoveries. For this, general people get access to documents, pamphlets, books, journals, television programs, websites, and museum displays.
They can also get access to visiting archaeological sites. Thus, people can have clear ideas about the value of historical sites.
General people should be allowed to visit archaeological sites as they directly or indirectly pay for these discoveries.
How Public Archaeology Functions
Community or public archaeology is the archaeology by the people for the people. Community archaeology tries to understand the past through archaeological discoveries and their connection to modern people. In this case, the archaeologists and the local people help each other by sharing information. The local people can also provide their knowledge and add to the research. This practice allows the local community to take part in the primary stage of planning a project. People can help in many ways. They can help by forming research questions, conducting surveys, collecting data, and analyzing the data.
Public archaeology also aims at preserving and protecting archaeological remains. In this case, the government plays a great role. The government has systems like Heritage Management (HM) or Cultural Resource Management (CRM). It is formed to organize publicly funded projects, excavations, and researches. Museums, historical organizations, and professional archaeologists manage most of the public archaeological researches.
The Lion is the symbol of Babylon and represents Ishtar, the goddess of fertility, love and war. Meant not only to symbolize Babylon but to instill fear in enemies.
The tiles were completely shattered, requiring around two years to clean, preserve and reassemble. The more vivid blue tiles surrounding the figure were recreated using the original glazing process to complete the lower blue-tiled section of the processional way in Berlin’s Pergamon Museum.
Problems Related to Public Archaeology
Before developing any public archaeological projects, archaeologists must consider some aspects. They must realize that the projects may fall victim to looting, vandalism, or damage. Unfortunately, some people and organizations have unethical intentions for archaeological sites and antiquities. So, giving access to valuable sites can cause a lot of problems. Some major problems related to public archaeology are:
- Looting or Robbing: There are risks in presenting archaeological findings to the public. This may attract robbers and looters who only care for money and not about cultural values. Corrupted people often loot archaeological sites for relics. They sell the relics on the black market. This is a great loss because the relics can provide crucial information about the past. Moreover, the robbers can carelessly harm the archaeological sites when they rob the places.
- Vandalism: Archaeological discoveries may not be pleasant for everyone in society. A particular group of people may feel offended by some discoveries which are threatening to their religion, culture, and beliefs. This may often drive them to vandalize the archaeological remains and sites. The archaeologists related to the research may also be threatened.
- International Trades: International trade policy does not have strong laws against buying and selling looted archaeological artifacts. So, constantly informing the public about valuable archaeological discoveries may attract traders. The information and photos of archaeological relics help culprits to easily collect them. They can find a potential buyer even before the items are on the market. Thus, advertising archaeological discoveries can be a serious threat.
- Privacy Issues: Sometimes declaring a site as public archaeology brings many problems to the locals. Suddenly, archaeologists come and dig up their lands. Besides, some discoveries can hamper the social and cultural life of a community living near the archaeological sites. A community’s spiritual beliefs about the landscape and its elements become threatened. Furthermore, some people may feel uncomfortable learning about the past rituals of their culture or religion (e.g. Animal slaughtering, cannibalism, etc.).