Legitimizing Atlantis: The Use of Artificial Archaeology to Establish Heritage and a Sense of Place at the Atlantis Resort, Bahamas

Summary

The Atlantis Resort is a formidable presence on the landscape and a tourist destination that overshadows other Bahamian resorts.  The Atlantis theme has made the resort a popular topic in archaeological discussions of pseudoarchaeology, and the exhibit named "The Dig" in the lower level of the resort makes this artificial past widely accessible.  Attending ten tours through "The Dig" in the summer of 2011 facilitated an analysis of how the Atlantian past is presented to tourists, and how artificial archaeology is used to create an equally artificial past.  What emerged was a narrative of heritage and place making that is reflected in the "above ground" resort, and which parallels legitimate strategies in heritage and place making used in contemporary communities.  This presentation explores how an artificial past of a non-existent place is made real and is used to establish a "legitimate" heritage for the resort in the present day.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• At Home and Abroad: Travel as an Archaeological Problem   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 212