Anàlisi dels espais de presentació arqueològics de l'Edat dels Metalls

Summary

"Presenting archaeological heritage to the public: ruins versus reconstructions" <br>

Department of Social Science Didactics <br>

Faculty of Teacher Training <br>

University of Barcelona <br> <br>

This thesis is the result of four years research into the presentation of Bronze and Iron Age archaeological sites in Europe. To focus and define our approach, we chose first to establish which existing archaeological locations had been used to trace the course of European Protohistory, and then to investigate which of these locations were presented to the public on a 1:1 scale. Running parallel to this was our plan to compare the communicative or didactic efficacy of those sites which were presented in a traditional manner – that is, through the preservation of existing remains without further direct intervention – and those which had been three-dimensionally reconstructed or replicated. Was this latter approach an effective means of achieving better public understanding of the period in question? Our field work focused on five archaeological sites from the Iberian period, all located in Catalonia. Four of these display preserved remains, while one is partially-reconstructed. <br> <br>

It may seem ambitious to attempt to analyse Bronze and Iron Age archaeological displays throughout Europe in the limited time span of four years, but our research objectives were quite modest from the outset. Our fundamental aim was to establish how worthwhile it was to carry out volumetric reconstructions of archaeological sites, in all their possible variations. <br> <br>

Our fundamental hypothesis was this: given that most people find it difficult to conceptualise physical space, a visit to a reconstructed archaeological site should help them to reach a better understanding of that space. <br> <br>

The results of our research clearly show, beyond any possible doubt, that people always learn from visiting reconstructed sites. In this regard, significant differences can be seen in the surveys carried out before and after the visit. The surveys from the preserved sites, on the other hand, not only show no evidence of learning having taken place, but actually raise the possibility that such visits increase confusion: in other words, that people understand less as a result. This is a surprising finding, going far beyond the range of our initial hypothesis: the idea that a visit to an archaeological site could actually lead to decreased levels of knowledge and understanding had never occurred to us.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• EXARC Experimental Archaeology Collection

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): EXARC Experimental Archaeology Collection Manager

Record Identifiers

ExArc Id(s): 8984

Notes

Rights & Attribution: The information in this record was originally compiled by Dr. Roeland Paardekooper, EXARC Director.