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archaeology
is a source of information about the past; our own past, “the here and then” so to say. Who do we want to have been? And how do we “know” that? Archaeology provides us with information about |
| the daily life of the past, of ordinary people, but as well about the very high and very low class people. It is a kind of “monkey watching” and as well: “how did people live back then without electricity, without all the comforts we now have? Were they smarter because they were more inventive with the simple means they had? Or were people back then more backward because they hadn’t invented yet all those things we now ...?” |
| “Who do we want to have been” also counts for the public. We can understand each other better if we know our own backgrounds, also those of our parents and ancestors. Of course we live in the present and not in the past. We can’t relive the past at all, but we can learn from it. Often this is even fun, both for the young and old. The public is very often quite interested, because the past is something personal, something very near. And a presentation with a low threshold is in that case an excellent means to bring the past closer by. |
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2005, Roeland Paardekooper started a part time post graduate research into archaeological open air museums across Europe. Examples are Lejre (Denmark) and the Historisch OpenluchtMuseum
in Eindhoven (the Netherlands), to which he is connected already for 25 years, of which 4 years by profession. His research takes place at the University of Exeter and will be finished in 2012. Roeland Paardekooper can use much of his international contacts in the field of Archaeology & Public, both those at the museums themselves as at universities, companies and interest groups.
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| Roeland Paardekooper looks into the ‘bridging function’ which the open air museums offer between the public on the one hand and the archaeological profession on the other. To which extent are archaeologists really necessary here? It appears there are now about 300 of such museums; and it is been a long time since they all were just a wooden shed and a sandbox for the kids. Some of these museums attract more visitors than the National Archaeological Museum in the same country, just to mention something and they also provide with a low threshold. The fact they offer basic information does not make them ‘simple’; the information offered is often layered and therefore can be targeted at the level of the visitor. |
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Construction of one of the first ‘Iron Age’ houses at Lejre, Denmark. This centre has been an enlightening example to many – and still is ...
From: H.-O. Hansen, 1964. Mand og Hus, 21. |
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