The pagan temple of Viätt : A folkloristic narrative in the light of the history of archaeology

• This article discusses the boundary between non-academic and academic narratives in archaeology and the cultural heritage management. My case study deals with a private initiative to present the prehistoric remains on the hill Ytterberget in the province Ångermanland (Sweden). In the 1930s Gunnar Melin, the owner of the nearby farmstead, started to raise signs about the prehistoric remains on his property. The main issue is not to determine whether the signs are a good or bad example of a private and non-academic approach to cultural heritage management. The idea is to understand the signs in relation to academic interpretations and discussions of the contemporary time. One conclusion is that what we academic educated archaeologists today comprehend as old fashion or fantasies often is part of the interaction between the local population and what the archaeologist publish, in this example often in more or less popular form. In this example I use history of archaeology as a way to understand the background of Melins’ texts and to investigate how they have been treated over the years.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- Archaeology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Archaeology

Arkeologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kap (ämneskategori)