| ADS ONLINE - ISSUE 15 - Making History - ISSN 1368-0552 | Front Page | Contents |
Does archaeology have good memory of its history? The question becomes all the more relevant once we recognise that this history cannot be confined to a mere internalist account, which would in turn end up as a triumphant but ultimately unsatisfying chronicle of scientific progress. The past which archaeology seeks to uncover and elucidate is too rare and precious a resource for us to ignore or gloss over the processes of its construction-that is to say, the diverse scientific, cultural and ideological contexts in which archaeology has been practiced, deployed and used, since at least the Renaissance onwards, in Europe and beyond. And to get to these crucial issues, the history of archaeology needs to have recourse to all possible sources of memory available: to the vast corpus of scientific publications produced over the past centuries, of course, but also to this broad range of correspondence, diaries, notes, sketches, photos, drafts, minutes, and other such minutiae routinely generated in the course of ongoing archaeological activities, which do not necessarily represent formal, authoritative statements designed for public consumption but nevertheless fully evidence what is it that happens when archaeology is being made. In other words, the memory of archaeology that is sought after here is the one found in the archives of the discipline, preserved but also occluded, secured and at the same time secluded, in boxes, cardboards, drawers and such assortments of containers in innumerable museums, universities, libraries, learned societies and other repositories across Europe. It is to the exploration and valorisation of this memory that the AREA network is dedicated.
Launched in late 1999 as an experimental measure of the European Commission, the AREA network-Archives of European Archaeology-links together a dozen of leading institutions from across Europe (universities, research centres, museums, archaeological services) engaged together in studying the archives and the history of archaeology. In its current phase of activities, as a multiannual cultural cooperation project of the Culture 2000 programme (Directorate General Education and Culture of the European Commission), the AREA network includes the following institutions.
and, as the project leader vis a vis the EC and host of the coordination team,
Over the years of the network's activities, AREA partners have proceeded in broadly parallel and interconnected tracks, involving respectively documentation and research. On the documentation front, AREA partners produce a European wide database of archival fonds and depositories with archival material relevant to the history of archaeology, in the broadest sense of the term. Each partner proceeds in function of its research interests and priorities, in relation to its institutional needs and to those of the archival repositories it documents. The main objective is to make known and accessible these previously ignored archival resources, and notably contribute to the valorisation policies of archives holding institutions. This database is structured following the ISAD (G) norms of archival description, with appropriate modifications and additions of fields related to archaeological and historiographical issues. It is accessible online on the AREA website, and can be queried by name of archives and repositories, names of creators, places, institutions, free text search, etc. A major overhaul and expansion of the database is being carried out.
Marshall Smigly-Rydz, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army was one of many distinguished visitors to inspect excavations at the Iron Age fortress of Biskupin in Poland in the 1930's. Image courtesy of Poznan Archaeological Museum, ARENA Project
Once documented, this archival material serves as a primary source for researching the history of archaeology. Besides demonstrating the crucial role of archaeological archives as historical documents-precisely because, as indicated above, they capture the science 'in action'-AREA partners engage in dedicated thematic research which notably explore the interrelations between the history of archaeology and the formation of cultural and political identities. Some of the AREA projects in this direction include: the history of protohistorical archaeology in 19th and 20th century Spain, between centralism and regionalism; the uses of classical archaeology in the affirmation of Greek independence; the practical and rhetorical roles of Palaeolithic archaeology in cementing Belgian nationhood; German archaeology and expansionism before and during the Third Reich; Polish archaeology in relation to German expansionism; dictatorships and archaeology in Albania; Irish archaeological collections in colonial contexts; long term perspectives on the discovery of the Scandinavian past, etc.
Archival materials have in all these cases brought new evidence and new insights on the various scientific and political dimensions surrounding the production of archaeological knowledge. These research activities have resulted in a range of presentation and publications by AREA partners, and notably in a special section of the journal Antiquity (March 2002 cf. http://intarch.ac.uk/antiquity/histintro.html.
As a concluding act to its current phase of activities, AREA is organising a major international conference, 'Histories of archaeology. Archives, Ancestors, Practices', to be held in Göteborg, Sweden, on the 17-19 June 2004. Plenary sessions will be dedicated to such topics as 'Sources and methods for the history of archaeology', 'Archaeological practices' and 'Questions of identity'. A publication of the proceedings is planned.
Nathan Schlanger, AREA scientific coordinator,
Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art - INHA
area@inha.fr
For more information on the conference see: http://www.historiesofarchaeology.org
For more information on the AREA network and its partners see: http://www.area-archives.org
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Monday, 08 August 2005
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