Content:

In 2020, international tourism slowed down and eventually came to a complete halt. The states more or less closed their borders and locked their citizens at home. By doing so, people’s attention focused essentially on local events and activities. Therefore, it opened up new possibilities for presenting archaeological sites that were so far outclassed by more famous monuments and tourist attractions.
To offer the opportunity to explore archaeological sites and present them as an integral part of the cultural landscape to the “locked-down” public, 43 archaeological institutions of the Czech Republic teamed up and prepared the Archaeological Summer. Altogether, 73 sites were presented, and 3,700 participants booked guided tours. According to Facebook data, we managed to reach over 38,000 people. Moreover, 30,078 accesses to the Archaeological Summer website from 9,133 unique IP addresses were recorded.
Several requirements preconditioned the organisation of such a national event: professional archaeologists understood its community nature and participated in it, and we could utilise digital tools for the presentation of archaeological heritage that had been developed in the pre-Covid times, such as the online Archaeological Atlas of the Czech Republic and 3D and augmented reality tools. The Archaeological Summer became very welcome and popular, mainly because there were limited recreation possibilities in cities during the lockdown, and the people enjoyed the benefit of having “one’s own archaeologist” at disposal right on the site. These activities have contributed to promoting cultural heritage, supporting local tourism, and raising awareness of cultural heritage and historical landscape knowledge. The event has become a national case study. It showed us paths we can take while presenting archaeological sites, their sustainability and limits. At the same time, it outlined the possible role of archaeologists while cooperating with local communities.

EAA2021: Abstract

Title & Content

authors