Cite this as: Bouwmeester, J. and De Groote, K. 2025 Introduction: Urban Archaeology and the Cities of Tomorrow, Internet Archaeology 70. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.70.1
It is no coincidence that the 25th Europae Archaeologiae Consilium (EAC) symposium in 2024 was held in the capital of Europe: Brussels, Belgium. At the same time, it is actually surprising that urban archaeology is only now taking centre stage. After all, 21st century archaeological heritage management largely revolves around the Malta Convention and the Faro Convention. It is about engaging the public with its heritage and making society aware of its own past. And where better could all of this take place than at a frontline of archaeological heritage management, a place with the greatest spatial and social dynamics: a city.
In terms of social cohesion in cities, the past can be very valuable. Mundane expansion districts can gain a stronger identity by connecting with the past and reflecting this in their design. However, this is not something that is self-evident. Perhaps the greatest tension lies in the fact that historians and archaeologists have an eye for processes over long periods of time, while society and the city, perhaps more than any other construct, is much more volatile and focused on the now and the immediate future. This is precisely why it is our task to keep holding up the mirror. No matter how great we think our civilisation is, we too are only a very small step in a much longer history. And again, nowhere is this better expressed than in cities, places that are many hundreds and sometimes thousands of years old, and where archaeological research can reveal so visibly how generation after generation has shaped the space to best suit the wants and needs of the time. In this too, we are not much different now from the past.
Yet the impact of interventions in the soil is different now than it was hundred years ago. Whereas urban archaeology does speak of a palimpsest, the subsurface of the city as an accumulation of archaeological remains, the character of interventions has changed over the past 70 years. One could speak of a tabula rasa. New projects remove everything that was there, including all the foundations, to make way for something new. This is a very clear separation that can have huge consequences for archaeological heritage management.
This symposium's theme was Urban Archaeology and the Cities of Tomorrow. Space in cities is under severe pressure, especially now that many cities are putting much more emphasis on urban infill rather than expanding into the surrounding countryside. Preserving archaeological sites in cities is therefore complicated. So is excavating and researching sites. Many remains lie deep underground, and archaeology consists of an accumulation of traces and finds. Excavation is time-consuming and complex, but at the same time it yields information about hundreds of years of habitation and use. The focus of this conference was how archaeology can contribute to urban society, how archaeological heritage management works in cities, and how a rich archaeological heritage can contribute to the cities of the future.
Three working groups were active within the EAC at the time of the conference, which also formed the themes for the symposium.
What Matters: Significance is at the core of managing urban archaeological resources. As urban centres are multi-dimensional (with complexity in time and space), frequently with very deep stratigraphy and often with high land values and thus significant constraints on management choices, establishing significance and linking it to strategies for change management is crucial. This session looked at defining significance in an urban setting, the tools available for managing urban archaeology, and case studies of protection and display. The papers were not simply descriptive but demonstrated where making choices can influence positive outcomes, and help shape the urban landscapes of the future.
Asking the Right Question: How do we keep on top of all of that we know from urban archaeology? Archaeology, historical records, maps, plans and photographs form a huge resource for understanding towns and cities, but money and time are not limitless and key decisions need to be made to permit focus and prioritisation to get the best out of each investigation. Research frameworks can be a key tool in collating, focusing and revising the key questions, linking the research design for each investigation to the wider research opportunities identified from work undertaken before. The papers presented for this theme provided urban examples that showcased the potential of focused work and how it can advance research agendas, and thus support future heritage management decision-making.
Delivering the Goods: By definition, urban archaeology takes place in the busiest and most populated areas of any state. Large numbers of residents and workers are involuntary neighbours to new construction sites, but also coincidental witnesses to the discoveries that take place under their feet. The public benefits of archaeology lie at the core of Valletta and Faro, and there are great opportunities to harness these benefits during urban archaeological investigation. But what are these and how can we capitalise upon them? How can we ensure that these benefits create a positive legacy as our cities develop and change? These papers offered examples where tangible benefits other than the enhancement of our knowledge of the past have been successfully delivered in an urban context.
This volume contains a significant proportion of the papers presented at the symposium, and they are grouped according to the three different themes. In general, each article is a short version of the original paper, with a selection of images. The volume also contains a retrospective by Paul Belford.
We, as scientific coordinators, enjoyed organising the symposium and editing this volume. The volume illustrates well the scope of urban archaeology, and also its great potential for now and in the future. We are grateful to the EAC for putting these themes on the agenda, and to all the authors for their contributions. We hope this volume can contribute to a bright future for urban archaeology.
Corresponding author: Jeroen Bouwmeester
J.Bouwmeester@cultureelerfgoed.nl
Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed
Koen De Groote
koen.degroote@vlaanderen.be
Flanders Heritage Agency
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