The Heritagisation of Archaeology.

To determine the factors that converge in the heritagisation processes of the tangible remains from the past.

To determine the processes of social identification with the archaeological heritage.

To determine the uses of the archaeological heritage according to a categorisation of diversified cases.

To determine the characteristics of the reappraisal of the archaeological materiality.

To delve further into the analysis of the mechanisms of conceptualisation and use of the archaeological heritage in contemporary societies.

To provide educational strategies and resources that strengthen the interpretation, communication and learning of the archaeological heritage and to generate synergies for a greater social inclusion.

To contribute to the development of the local communities through the archaeological heritage as an element of social cohesion and cultural promotion.

1

When the archaeological heritage is used in territories where it forms one of the main identifying elements of the inhabitants and this relationship is of long standing.

The case of the Greco-Roman colony of Empúries (L’Escala, Girona Province) is used to study this point. The singularity of this locality stems from the fact that it is the only archaeological site on the Iberian Peninsula combining the remains of a Greek city (Emporion) and of a Roman city (Emporiae), constituting in this way a basic reference for an understanding of the legacy of the classical civilisations in our culture. Today Empúries is one of the most visited archaeological museums and sites in Catalonia.

2

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

This analysis is based on the study of the use and conceptualisation of the archaeological heritage in protected natural areas where this heritage is little known and used. Specifically, two adjacent areas of public use but with distinct characteristics are studied: the Garrotxa Volcanic Area Natural Park (Girona Province) is a place where archaeological research has acquired special impetus in the last decade; in this area, the sustainability is studied of the use of the archaeological heritage generated by archaeological research, as an offering addressed to visitors from abroad. The second area studied is that of the Alta Garrotxa Area of Natural Interest (Girona Province). This area, which has been studied from the archaeological standpoint since the early 1980s, is used as a place of study to analyse the relationship of the community that lives in the territory with its archaeological heritage.

3

When the use of the archaeological heritage forms a tourism resource in particular.

In order to analyse this situation, work is carried out specifically on the Costa Brava, a territory that forms a world-famous tourism destination. Important archaeological sites are found in this area (including Empúries, Ullastret, Roses, and the Roman villa of Els Ametllers in Tossa de Mar), promoting the spread of its tourism image, but they are also incorporated into the tourism products and into the offering of the various towns in the area, as are the numerous related archaeological elements with diverse degrees of intervention (museumised sites, routes, interpretative centres, museums, etc.).

4

When the reappraisal of the archaeological heritage is of recent occurrence.

Of special interest to this project is the study of the archaeological heritage-society relationship in a situation in which the heritage activation process is under full development. For the analysis of this type of relationship, recourse is taken to a specific case of the Girona regions’ archaeological heritage: the archaeological site of Sant Julià de Ramis, which has been under excavation by a team from the University of Girona (UdG) in collaboration with the local Town Council since 1996 and which was museumised in part in 2007.

Gabriel Alcalde (ICRPC/UdG)
Xavier Aquilué (MAC-Empúries)
Josep Burch (ICRPC/UdG)
Dayan Castañeda (UdG)
Roser Juanola (ICRPC/UdG)
Enric Martí (ICRPC)
Antoni Rojas (ICRPC)
Joaquim Tremoleda (MAC-Empúries)
Mireia Tresserres (UdG)