Does context change impact our phenomenological experience and ability to create agency?
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 30/03/2019

Full title: Losing Context: Does context change impact our phenomenological experience and ability to create agency?

How does the context of cultural heritage affect our perception of heritage today? Does a change of context fundamentally change our phenomenological experience, our ability to form a connection with the monument? Take for example stone monuments, found across the United Kingdom from Stonehenge to the Cenotaph, they hold a unique place in society. They are focal points where people have and will come together (e.g. Remembrance Sunday). We create agency with these monuments, they reflect our human identity. Context is key to these monuments; the landscape setting is a key component of their context. Many stone monuments are however at risk; from environmental exposure, vandalism and social changes (e.g. the closure of churches). As a result, some monuments are placed in protective environments, museum galleries and storage. Is this removal from the historical landscape, breaking down the context? Is it affecting how the public view our heritage today? Is there a loss of connection between our heritage and the public? Are we, as we try to preserve the physical monument, causing the systematic decay of the intangible? Do we need more informed conversations and co-operation between archaeologists and conservators to preserve our intangible and tangible heritage? 

William Tregaskes