Transmedial archaeology: a deep map of regenerating narratives.
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2016-04-12

“Transmedia intertextuality works to position consumers as powerful players while disavowing commercial manipulation” wrote Marsha Kinder in 1991, as she coined the term ‘transmedia’ to encompass interactive, multifaceted platforms as a seed for change in which ideological conflicts within established and reforming narratives can seek to attain unification. Transmedia projects utilize a plethora of different semiotic modes in order to reinforce one another, in this way they can be a form of deep map where a mixture of voices (and associated agendas) interdigitate to further a single overarching objective that speaks to a wider audience than each factor could attain on their own. When applied to archaeology this can allow for an opening of both expression and method that leads one away from the conventional sources of funding and into dangerous waters where art and science meet. Geomythology sits as a bridge across this water. Geology, geography and mythology are commonly divided into competing communities within the same physical landscape. However geomythology can be harnessed to ease these boundaries into a shared engagement with both space and time. Academic and non-academic sectors can take an equal stand. However, this requires a radical reappraisal of how we finance such research, for it does not fit neatly into our long established boundaries, nor is it easy to navigate the political minefield of ploughing up outmoded ways of thinking. This paper does not aspire to have an answer to such a dilemma, rather it asks the question: How do we fund a politically sensitive marriage between disciplines under the narrative umbrella of archaeological representation? In so doing it examines the value of archaeology as an inherently transmedial field that lends itself to being a positive conduit for changing perceptions on landscapes of both the ground and of the imagination.  
Kinder, M. (1991). Playing with power in movies, television, and video games, From muppet babies to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. University of California Press: Berkeley; Los Angeles; Oxford. 

K.E. KAVANAGH (University of Wales Trinity Saint David)