Managing Archaeological Sites – Community Planning

When preparing to manage an archaeological site, how much does the community factor into the decisions that are being made?  Do they have any role in the planning?  This class focused on the question, “Whose future are we planning when we makes plans for managing archaeological sites?”

It is not a simple thing to get a pulse on the values and sense of expectation of the community and then to incorporate that into our plans for the site – but perhaps it is the right thing to do.  And perhaps by doing this, we also ensure that the community takes “ownership” of the site.

Without casting dispersions on the motives of anyone, this aspect of site management is often ignored.  After all, what if the community does take “ownership” of the site and then they decide to manage it differently than you?  But again, the question must be asked, “Whose future are you planning – the sites or the people who live around the site?”

It is common for site managers to talk about the revenue that proper site management will bring to the surrounding community from tourists.  However, is the site manager really interested in the wellbeing of the community or are they just trying to get the community’s consent so they can then turn around and do whatever they want to do?

Another problem in this is that there are more “stakeholders” in the process then just the community.  Trying to keep the relationship between the stakeholders civil as well as provide for everyone’s expectations just might not be possible.  However, it must be done, and the community is a stakeholder too.

Honesty is a very key attribute in the process.  It is important not to oversell the site.  In all reality, your archaeological site will probably not become a tourist “hotspot” to rival the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.  In fact, there may be very little change in the annual tourist attendance in the near future.  Setting realistic, attainable goals is very important when casting the vision to the stakeholders (including the community).

It is also valuable to realize that the community has skills and resources that can be of great use to the site and its management.  After all, they will remain at the site all year, every year, while you will come and go.  It cannot be forgotten that this is their home.  However, you might have to educate them in the process before you beginning the planning as the key players may not even understand what you are attempting to do.

By the end of this class I could see the wisdom in what was being presented.  And to answer the question posed to us at the beginning, I believe that the site and the community are the same, therefore, the future that we are planning belongs to both together.  They cannot be separated.