Community, Conflict and Archaeology in Acre, Israel

Summary

In 2001, the Old City of Akko, Israel was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. This status is based on the Old City’s intact Ottoman and Islamic-era town, and the partly subterranean ruins of the once-thriving Crusader port. Old Akko lies within a larger, mostly Jewish community, and it remains a living Arabic town, where tourist shops have not yet replaced vegetable markets and the marina is still dominated by small fishing boats. Akko’s Arab community is economically depressed and understandably skeptical of official efforts to develop the port for tourism. Undertakings such as the preservation of the Crusader legacy and the recently discovered Hellenistic port underneath the town’s walls have been vehemently resisted. The conflict between community and archaeology, and the danger of privileging a dominant history in regions of ethnic and religious strife, are old and familiar problems. Akko, however, has been experimenting with some new cultural heritage plans, which this poster seeks to evaluate.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Poster Session   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): POS-98,16