Nothing to See Here! The Challenges of Public Archaeology at Palaeolithic Stélida, Naxos

Abstract

In our desire to develop public archaeologies at the early prehistoric site of Stélida (Naxos, Greece), we face three major challenges. Firstly, there are a number of stakeholder communities involved with conflicting interests. Moreover, the ‘local’ population is distinct, being heterogeneous in composition, fluid in its residence, including individuals with significantly more socioeconomic and political power than the archaeologists. Secondly, due to issues of landowners' wish for privacy and the Ministry of Culture's financial limitations, Stélida itself is unlikely to become a focus of public engagement; instead, off-site digital media, exhibitions and teaching packs likely represent the best means of disseminating information to larger audiences. Finally, early prehistoric archaeology is a culturally and temporally alien world of ‘bones and stones,’ which requires imaginative means of engaging the public imagination.

The Freston Causewayed Enclosure

“…A final objective was to dialogically engage with the various groups who are personally, economically and/or intellectually invested in the site (cf. Bartu 2000;Carter 2017;Merriman 2004), a process that has involved in-person and online talks, a site tour, volunteer fieldworkers, and the creation of a non-academic website (FARM 2021).…”