Cite this as: Peter, S. 2019 A Citizen's View on Public Archaeology and Heritage in Austria, Internet Archaeology 51. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.51.8
ArchaeoPublica is a charity that was founded in Austria in 2015. Professionals and non-professionals had been working together for a long time and it was thought it would be a good idea to establish a charity that could connect scientists with non-scientists.
Our aims are:
In the charity, non-professionals and archaeologists are regarded and cooperate as equals. There are professionals, students and non-professionals working together on the organisation board, which is why we can develop projects for our members and can tailor work to different levels according to interest and ability.
For example, ArchaeoPublica organised a field survey with public participation in St Pantaleon in Lower Austria at 2017. Professionals and citizens examined a Roman fort together, using geophysics as well as classic field survey. With a roughly even split they worked together, learning from each other by sharing their varied experiences. They also worked on documentation of, cleaning and sorting finds, with significant objects being photographed and drawn. This is also advantageous for the project. On the one hand non-professionals learned by workshop training how they could review their finds and on the other hand archaeologists could outsource the work to people who were both interested and would work to a defined standard.
In preparation for the fieldwork, ArchaeoPublica organised a workshop for non-professional participants to acquire archaeological skills. They learned from professionals what GIS is and how it can be used to find archaeological monuments, and in addition which laws apply in Austria and how non-professionals can help to save heritage finds there.
There are other charities in Austria that are interested in archaeology.
The association, which collaborates with ArchaeoPublica, is a 'bottom-up' research project founded in 2010, aiming at rediscovering the ruins of a medieval castle in Lower Austria that was abandoned and dismantled centuries ago. As the castle vanished from the landscape, its former existence was nearly forgotten by the local population. The association aims to protect and preserve the vulnerable remaining features and to research the history of the former medieval residence and its inhabitants. Its members are highly dedicated volunteers, working closely together with professional researchers.
Some members of the association have been working on maintaining the architectural remains since 2009. These projects aim at illuminating the history of the location through both historic studies in archives and annual archaeological excavation campaigns. Today the association counts about 30 members, many of them volunteering to participate in archaeological excavations, educational projects, documentation and conservation. Additionally, the association organises events and publications aimed at educating the public. These are intended to promote interest in the preservation of medieval castle ruins and their heritage.
The diverse community of amateur historians and archaeologists, educators, re-enactment performers, surveyors, and other specialists encourage a lively interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge among members and academic professionals. Furthermore, the association aims for interdisciplinary cooperation and scientific exchange with related organisations and institutions.
Working in close cooperation with the Austrian Monument Protection Authority, it was possible to gain new insights through diverse archaeological campaigns. In the coming years, further archaeological projects will gradually provide new insights into the life of the castle complex which used to be some dominant in the region. Our wish to uncover the remains of the past is counterbalanced by the need to preserve the architectural remains by employing contemporary, scientifically-recognised standards and methods in ruin care. Specifically, this mission statement means that the archaeological monument is to be preserved and maintained as close to its original condition as possible. All archaeological activities are to be carefully documented and carried out with explicit consent and supervision of the Federal Monuments Office. The association attaches great importance to adhering to the highest attainable standards of research and is committed to protecting the environmental and archaeological integrity of the site.
Since 2011, Netzwerk Geschichte Österreich (Network History Austria) has existed as a non-profit charity. It attempts to improve collaboration between citizens and archaeological authorities. One aim is to clarify legal terms about cultural heritage in Austria but also to offer challenges. Another important task is to confront perceptions about Austrian history in its own publications, talks, events, social media and keep in touch with other science organisations. There is also a multidisciplinary team carrying out research that is open to everyone interested in history research.
Members of NGÖ also operate in studies about archaeological objects, practice experimental archaeology, build databases and take aerial photographs for archaeological excavations and survey. This information is available for the field research team in NGÖ, which collaborates with ArchaeoPublica.
There are a lot of projects that work to include the public in Austria although most start out as top-down projects and focus on natural science.
This organisation includes all known citizen science projects in Austria and presents them on their website. People are able to look for an appealing project and find out more information and how to get involved. Platform Citizen Science Austria have recently developed some quality criteria for projects.
This museum has a lot of different projects for public participation and there are three ways to take part in activities.
In addition to the possibilities listed above, there are other ways for citizens to participate in archaeology and cultural heritage:
Some people are interested purely in archaeological finds and artefacts and most do this via Living History Associations in Austria, which work to a high standard and mostly collaborate with archaeologists and historians. Some of these are listed below.
Interessengemeinschaft 14. Jahrhundert is a group of living history actors from Austria and Germany. Their focus is on the daily life of citizens and craftspeople of the 14th century. Their main focus is on a detailed reconstruction of material culture and fashion from this time and region, educating and sharing historic knowledge via hands-on experience. The actors examine original sources in depth (text and pictures), together with archaeological finds from Austria and scientific publications, and exchange views with archaeologists and historians. In areas where not enough evidence for a practical interpretation exists, they make direct comparisons with other European finds and primary sources. However, they try to give priority to sources from Austria but also draw on broader spheres of influence such as Italy, Bohemia and Southern Germany.
The practical reconstruction of material culture is sometimes presented in front of an audience to make the process more meaningful for the visitor. Experimental archaeological findings and methods of archaeology are also used. For IG14 it is important to present a picture of the history of this epoch in a tangible and lively way that is as realistic as possible, avoiding clichés, through the involvement of the visitor as well as through modern museum educational media techniques.
This is a small group of people who are not professionally concerned with the topic of the Middle Ages but again practice 'Living History'. To accomplish this task, they use contemporary sources of images and text, museum exhibits and finds – mainly from Austria. At the same time, they work intensively with archaeologists and historians from the University of Vienna, as well as with private collectors, and deal with material culture.
Their replicated and reconstructed items aim to meet higher standards and thus underline the quality and seriousness of their association, to distinguish them clearly from other reenactment groups. Their focus is on the reconstruction of everyday objects, weapons and armour, which are reproduced as a result of extensive research. It is important to them that the pieces produced largely correspond to the originals in terms of shape, material quality and appearance. For example, their crossbows are real horn compsite bows, their ceramics are oxidized or low fired and the clothes are made of hand-woven linen and natural-coloured woollen fabrics.
The primary goal is to represent medieval everyday life as close to the original as possible, in which visitors, especially children, should be actively involved. In addition to the presentation of old craft techniques, and everyday objects, weapons and armour, they try to explore the living conditions at that time to give modern people a sense of what it might have been like.
There are several potters who specialise in the production of historical ceramics, selling them, for example, to museums, re-enactment groups and people interested in history more generally. These ceramics are also valuable for schools, because pupils see not only broken fragments but complete objects.
Austrian heritage protection law states that only professional archaeologists can obtain a permit to perform archaeological excavations, which are legally protected. Furthermore, it excludes the public from the process of identifying cultural heritage.
Non-professionals are not permitted to participate in the decision-making process when declaring what is or what is not a heritage monument. Only the Austrian Monument Protection Authority is allowed to determine this. This prohibits the public from active participation in heritage protection. It is also forbidden to look for potential heritage monuments and transgressors will be actually punished by paying a fine. Non-professionals are also forbidden to carry out archaeological excavation, for example in their own garden, regardless of whether this is a listed building or not. Yet on the other hand, Austria ratified the Faro Convention in 2015, which states that citizens have the right to participate in the cultural heritage and to exercise that right actively, whether that is identifying heritage monuments, being part of archaeological excavations or simply talking about and discussing cultural heritage and how to deal with it.
Organizations like ArchaeoPublica aim to allow citizen participation in archeology. However, the Austrian Heritage Protection Law makes some of this very difficult. Theoretically, the state should provide financial resources to promote citizen participation, but this is rarely the case and so ArchaeoPublica often has its hands tied when it comes to implementing projects.
It is difficult to get large subsidies in Austrian archaeology and heritage protection but in 2016 and 2017 ArchaeoPublica received a limited grant from the Austrian Monument Protection Authority as a jump start. The money was intended to initiate projects in citizen participation and paying for the supervision of the non-professionals. There were no official grants since 2018 and there is currently only one pilot project (Grabherr et al. 2018) partially funded by 'Landesmuseum Oberösterreich' (There has been limited success in collecting private donations. Citizens alone cannot afford this and so state support is required and not just permission to realise projects). A further complication has now emerged. Following a federal audit office investigation, the Austrian Monument Protection Authority has had restrictions placed on it and therefore its funding for research on monument protection and so the project was suspended.
There are some differences in language between scientists and citizens and just a few are presented below.
This to me is one of the most serious problems between scientists and the general public in Austria. From citizen's point of view, scientists can be strange entities who hide away without an idea of the reality of ordinary people. How should citizens come to a different conclusion, when on the one hand, scientists are scarcely present in public life (and if they are, then they are primarily known from TV series like 'The Big Bang Theory' or if they contact a scientist, they are primarily overwhelmed by terms they cannot understand. It may be helpful to reach out more to citizens and build on their previous knowledge, but does require some communication skills.
Another issue is the different levels of education between scientists and citizens. While the scientist may have a master's degree, the interested citizen may have only completed a compulsory school-leaving certificate and subsequently an apprenticeship and will not necessarily be familiar with the field of archaeology. The average new student at the university also faces a steep learning curve and the process of learning new terminology, perspectives and theories takes years and cannot be resolved within a few hours or days. An average degree in archaeology lasts between five and seven years, during which the student has the opportunity to study their subject intensively. The interested citizen may not need to know all the details of an archaeological study, but they too need time to understand and internalise the essentials.
There are not only subject-specific differences between archaeologists and the public, but also linguistic ones. While a scientist must master a certain level of language in order to pursue his or her profession, this may not be the case with a craftsman or an office worker. The 'Common European Framework of Reference for Languages' defines different language levels and assumes six different language levels in language acquisition. The lowest level, A1, represents the beginner in a language. A2 indicates an ability to communicate rudimentarily. The everyday language of use represents the levels B1 and B2. Most people use this level. Finally, there is the 'higher' language, described under C1 and C2 and reserved for native speakers with higher education and needed to complete a university degree. In order to reach such a level, the average person needs seven years in which they engage intensively with this language, applying it every day. The scientific language is set to C2 in German and requires a high level of linguistic understanding, but also the cognitive ability to understand the spoken word in terms of content. A self-assessment grid [PDF] provides a guide to how the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages works.
In order to have easier access to history and archaeology, citizens often go to museums. Depending on the museum, there are better and worse ways of presenting texts. Didactically well-prepared museums introduce the subject to the visitor using short texts that contain basic information and are written in simple language. In addition to the texts, pictures clarify what is meant, plus the inclusion of artefacts or replicas, which the visitors may hold in the hand if necessary. Professionals who deal daily with original finds often may not even notice the fascination an original can exert for the interested visitor, as opposed to a reconstruction.
Another problem facing museums is the shift in information flow. While people used to have to go to a specific place (for example a museum, library, or archive) to get new information, new media has made it possible to get knowledge at any time and any place. A museum is no longer the sole source of information, and therefore needs to attract visitors by other means. It does not need an action-packed programme, but still needs to devise new methods to attract people back to such places of knowledge. One possibility would be to show them the immediate value of an original find and to tell them the story of this artefact. Storytelling fascinates all ages equally.
Learning can take place beyond the museum, by visiting sies such as castles, ruins or old mansions. Since there is not always a suitable infrastructure to convey information, it is possible to use the new media such as your own smartphone or tablet to explore a place using a smartphone-application. Interesting approaches include geocaching or the game 'Munzee'. With these, people can look for certain coordinates by using a GPS or their smartphones. They have to solve small riddles and finally they will find a 'treasure'. This methodology of gamification could be adapted and/or further developed to satisfy the curiosity for new places.
An issue in German-speaking countries is the lack of literature for children and young people. On the one hand, there are now some books for adults that cover archaeology and some are also written on a popular science-based level. On the other hand, reading material for children and young people is barely adequate. Even at school, archaeology is only mentioned marginally, and here too a false impression is conveyed e.g. when archaeologists are equated with palaeontologists, looking for and analysing bones of dinosaurs. This misinformation gives completely the wrong message about the archaeological profession.
However, good literature not only refers to the right information, but also to the right presentation, an age-appropriate language, images, easy-to-understand graphics and easy-to-read explanations for each age group. In the meantime, new technologies can also be used to link to videos (for example via QR codes) that can enrich a book. So the reader is not only dependent on the descriptions, but can look at the work directly to be able to understand them better.
Re-enactment and living history also provide an interesting method for teaching science using an experimental archaeology approach. Through the vivid depiction of handicrafts, for example, the possibility exists to handle materials, to ask the performers questions directly and to experience history with all senses. It opens a completely new perspective on the past to an interested person. At a good living history event, visitors have the opportunity to experience the past as a foreign country while at the same time they can ask questions like: Where did a person sleep? What did people in the past eat? What did the social structures look like? What was the value of money and did everyone have money? How did people deal with diseases? What part did religion play in the common life? What happened when a crop failed and there was a lack of food for a season?
People should be easy to reach through the medium of television. Even if the younger generation watch their videos on Youtube or Vimeo, the basic format remains the same. Time Team, the UK television series, was broadcast for over 20 years. In addition to the excavation itself, other archaeological procedures such as geophysics, radiocarbon dating or surveys were presented. Furthermore, there was always accompanying information about other objectives, perhaps how ceramics were produced or some historical background. Such information complemented the episodes very well and the viewer got a relatively realistic picture of archaeology and its research methods. In addition to Time Team, other series also dealt with archaeology and history. Examples include 'Walking through History', 'Full Steam Ahead' or 'Secrets of the Castle'.
To reach younger people, the format of the documentary may be less useful. However, this audience can be reached using Youtube video blogs for archaeology. These contributions are usually shorter and give more condensed information about a particular topic. So it could be possible to watch them while waiting for the bus or train and get a deeper insight.
Symposia represent a major problem for interested citizens. Even if they know about them, they may be difficult to attend due to full-time jobs and family. If such an event takes place during the week, then vacation time is used up (and that will depend on employers and family situation). Employer reimbursement is unlikely for any expenses incurred by attending such an event. Attended purely out of interest in the subject itself, such events will not have a vocational or educational advantage so it means a considerable expense which may not always be possible. Many symposia do not explicitly invite citizens or do not appeal to them. I do not suggest that each and every symposium should be accessible to lay researchers, but it would be desirable to tailor some events to them, for instance by offering discounted fees when the attendance of citizens is desirable or by scheduling symposia, for example, from Friday to Sunday instead of Thursday to Saturday (reserving Saturday for excursions).
From my own experience, I know that even people not particularly interested in history can still have their interest aroused. Although many myths abound, many people have no feeling or imagination about longer time periods. As a rule, this comprehension of time improves as people get older and can look back on their own life story.
A major problem in many Austrian museums that exhibit archaeological artefacts is that such objects are often broken and either poorly reconstructed or not reconstructed at all. Sometimes there are pictures that depict the outline of a pottery vessel, or pictures of hypothetical reconstructions of buildings or clothing but the visitor may see these things as rubbish, or simply nothing, because of a lack of imagination. Another big problem is the lack of opportunities to see things close-up, when everything is viewed through a display case.
This can be remedied by the visitor seeing reconstructions in addition to the originals. In the case of reconstructions, it must be made clear that if original comparison finds are lacking these may not be realistic, and the actual appearance can only be guesswork. Here I refer above all to the many reconstructions of ruins, which are often very romantic and adventurous at the same time but probably never existed in this way. Another option to reduce the distance is to have supervised sessions where the visitor can handle originals. In this way they have the opportunity to hold a piece of culture from the past in their hands and are able to interact with it using all their senses. If this is not possible, because the original finds are too valuable or not available, replicas can be used. These also offer the opportunity for a hands-on experience and thus give the visitor an idea of how things worked in the past. This provides a much more memorable experience than reading a table with an incomprehensible text.
Another effective option for display is to use 'question bubbles' that ask stimulating questions about a topic. These can vary greatly depending on the exhibition, but they aim to make the visitor think for themselves, since the answers are either personal or can only be answered individually. This creates a new reference to a topic or to a specific object. Another effective technique is allowing the object to tell its own story. This can be done either by information boards, or by a museum guide. But through stories, a connection to an exhibit is created and from this it is possible for the visitor to open up a new time or a new area for themselves.
Some have an erroneous picture of the profession of an archaeologist. On the one hand this has to do with ignorance, on the other hand it also has to do with the wrong presentation in films. 'Indiana Jones' or 'The Mummy (returns)' are very good examples. Unfortunately, the message of such pictures take over public understanding and so many people believe archaeologists always wear a hat or fight Nazis or resurrect mummies. Many people associate archaeology primarily with prehistory or the classical world. A few of my friends were surprised when I told them that there is also medieval archaeology, modern archaeology and even World War archaeology and that people research these areas. To change this false image of archaeology in people's minds requires a better explanation and presentation of the wide field of archaeology.
Introducing pupils and young people to this field of work is one of the most challenging but exciting ways to bring archaeology to the wider society. On the one hand, they usually have a thirst for knowledge, on the other hand, children also have the opportunity to learn something new about many areas that affect their lives. This can happen in different ways: archaeologists can hold workshops with classes in cooperation with museums. Subsequently, students can then explore their environment for traces of the past. These can be monuments or historic buildings, but also photographs, old newspapers and everyday objects from their grandparents' time.
To experience archaeology up close, even a field survey can be organised with the help of students. In this way, the young people come into contact with original finds and at the same time they learn something about their immediate environment. Additionally, one's own past becomes meaningful, since it is literally held it in one's own hands. This creates a new relationship that can be very valuable to individuals.
In order not only to talk about problems, but also to offer a solution, I think intermediaries are needed – so-called 'bridge builders'. These have the task of communicating between scientists and the interested public, to refer to questions and problems in the right place and to help each to have a basic understanding of the other side.
The work of a bridge builder consists first and foremost in actively reaching out to both interested citizens and scientists and mediating between them should both sides wish it. This can be done by clarifying wishes and questions, but also to 'translate' between them. In projects, they can take an active role in guiding them and being involved in the organisation in advance. In extreme cases, they should also be able to mediate in acute crisis situations, such as when a dialogue escalates or no longer takes place. Another possibility is not only to mediate between archaeologists and citizens, but also between citizens and the Monument Authorities. Experience shows that open and honest communication is just as important as the transparency in a project.
Such people would ideally have basic knowledge of both sides and some experience in how to communicate would be an advantage. As an example, teachers or cultural guides would be suitable here, since they may be educated to degree level and also have experience of working with people. Students of archaeology should have one or more courses in their studies that deal with this topic, or even an internship in which this aspect is included (for example, as a cultural guide in a museum or working in an authority) to get familiarity both in working with people as well as gain practical experience in different situations.
ArchaeoPublica has created a charity that actively promotes public participation, but whose activities are limited owing to the lack of funds. Although the state advocates the participation of citizens in archaeology (see Faro Convention), it is unwilling to offer grant aid or support them through subsidies. It is not just archaeologists and interested citizens who benefit from archaeology. Re-enactment groups, replica potters, students starting a new profession while gaining a deeper understanding of their own past and past cultures can all benefit. Austrian citizens are interested in archaeology and preservation, but they gneerally lack access to it. They can have a false picture of the subject and sometimes communication with specialists can be difficult which creates the potential for conflict. This situation can be mitigated and resolved with mediators. Bridge builders will be familiar with both sides and will work professionally with all interested groups, utilising their communication skills. Museums as educational sites have the best opportunities to build an understanding of archaeology and heritage preservation, but more modern methods and technolgies are required.
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