THE ENCHANTMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2021-01-26

A growing body of research testifies to the capacity for archaeological and other cultural heritage sites to generate wonder, attachment, personal transformation and restoration, family bonding and community building amongst their visitors. One might argue, following political theorist Jane Bennett, that these sites have the power to enchant – and, in so doing, they stand as seedbeds for human generosity, ethical mindfulness, and care for the world at large. However, the means by which such enchantment is bred, and the extent to which these intimate, emotive, social and sensual encounters with the pre/historic record can be deliberately crafted by archaeologists and heritage practitioners, are little understood. Digital technologies themselves are regularly touted as tools to beget empathy, connectivity, novel interactions and human consciousness. They, too, are increasingly deployed in the context of creating memorable touristic experiences at heritage sites. Yet our empirical understanding of their relationship to enchantment—their impact on nurturing visitors both as potential stewards of the archaeological record and as good citizens in general—is still nascent. Using evaluation data from two related European Commission-funded projects, CHESS (www.chessexperience.eu) and EMOTIVE (www.emotiveproject.eu), we discuss here our work in developing emotionally-engaging digital stories for visitors to diverse cultural heritage sites. Our findings testify that such stories can easily provoke profound self-reflection, personal attachment and compassion in the moment, which leads us to consider how their enchanting capacities might be pushed even further into the building of broader, collective social conscience and long-lasting goodwill.


Author(s): Perry, Sara (Department of Archaeology, University of York,)