The Heritagisation of Archaeology.

Methodology and work plan

1

When archaeological heritage is used in territories where it constitutes one of the main elements of identification of its inhabitants and, in addition, this relationship has a long history.

To work on this point, the case of the Greco-Roman colony of Empúries (L’Escala, Girona) is used. The uniqueness of this point lies in being the only archaeological site in the Iberian Peninsula where the remains of a Greek city (Emporion) and a Roman city (Emporiae) are combined, and therefore constitutes a basic point of reference for understanding the legacy of classical civilizations in our culture. Today, Empúries is one of the most visited museums and archaeological sites in Catalonia.

2

When archaeological heritage is used in territories where heritage valorization is based on other types of elements.

For this analysis, work is carried out based on the study of the use and conceptualization of archaeological heritage in protected natural spaces in which archaeological heritage is little known and used. Specifically, two adjacent protected spaces for public use, but with different characteristics, are analyzed: the Natural Park of the Volcanic Zone of La Garrotxa (Girona) is a space in which archaeological research has had a special boost in the last decade; in this area, the sustainability of the use of archaeological heritage generated by archaeological research as an offer aimed at visitors from abroad is studied. The second space analyzed is the Area of ??Natural Interest of Alta Garrotxa (Girona). This area, which has been studied from an archaeological point of view since the early 1980s, is used as a study space to analyze the relationship between the community that lives in the territory and its archaeological heritage.

3

When the use of archaeological heritage constitutes a tourist resource in particular.

To analyze this situation, we work specifically on the Costa Brava, a territory that constitutes a universally known tourist destination. In this area there are important archaeological sites (for example Empúries, Ullastret, Roses, or the Roman villa of Els Ametllers in Tossa de Mar) that promote tourism, but which are also incorporated into the tourist products and the offer of the different towns in the area, as well as the numerous archaeological elements with different degrees of intervention (museum sites, routes, interpretation centers, museums, etc.).

4

When the valorization of archaeological heritage occurs recently.

Of particular interest for this project is the study of the relationship between archaeological heritage and society in a situation in which the process of heritage activation is in full swing. To analyze this type of relationship, we turn to a specific case of the archaeological heritage of the Girona region, the archaeological site of Sant Julià de Ramis, excavated by a team from the University of Girona in collaboration with the City Council of this municipality since 1996 and partly museumized in 2007.