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How Quickly Should Public Benefit Come From Archaeology? Availability, use and influence on society: results of the Estonian salvage and metal detector study

Ulla Kadakas

Cite this as: Kadakas, U. 2021 How Quickly Should Public Benefit Come From Archaeology? Availability, use and influence on society: results of the Estonian salvage and metal detector study, Internet Archaeology 57. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.57.15

Summary

A supposed fireplace from 10th-17th century in a settlement site of Viira on the island of Muhu. The stratigraphy of the soil layers cannot be understood without archaeological knowledge. Photo: Rivo Bernotas
A supposed fireplace from 10th-17th century in a settlement site of Viira on the island of Muhu. The stratigraphy of the soil layers cannot be understood without archaeological knowledge. Photo: Rivo Bernotas

This paper explores the idea of excavation being only the first stage in communicating the benefit of archaeology to the public. The role of museums, social media and scientific publication are all important, as are the support from private developers and the personal role of the archaeologists themselves. The use of social media can be positive but this paper also details problems with metal detectorists groups, some of which are not acting responsibly.

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  • Keywords: Estonia, social media, metal detecting, professionalisation, museums, public understanding
  • Accepted: 6 Jan 2021. Published: 17 Mar 2021
  • Funding: The publication of this article is funded by the European Archaeological Council.
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Corresponding author: Ulla Kadakas
ulla.kadakas@muinsuskaitseamet.ee
National Heritage Board, Estonia

Full text

Figure 1a/Figure 1b: Frames from the animation 'Välek Vibulane' (Tallinnfilm 1980). The stone axes with a bored hole depicted on the first frame were used in the territory of Estonia as part of the Battle Axe and Corded Ware culture (Johanson 2006, 100–1) about 3000 BC (Kriiska 2000, 75). The other frame shows pots decorated with comb impressions and pits and dimples; these pots had conical (not flat) bottom in Estonia. The first vessels with a flat bottom came with Corded Ware, but their ornamentation is dominated by cord impressions, notches and grooves (Kriiska 2000, 64–70)

Figure 2: Division of types of archaeological heritage studied in 2019. Source: National Heritage Board, Estonia

Figure 3: A supposed fireplace from 10th-17th century in a settlement site of Viira on the island of Muhu. The stratigraphy of the soil layers cannot be understood without archaeological knowledge. Photo: Rivo Bernotas.

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