Archaeologist – researcher and populariser, experiences from Targ Sienny

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present a double role of an archaeologist – a role of a researcher and a popularizer. In the introduction there are the definitions of archaeology and a long story of popularizing the results of its research. The first chapter describes the methods of popularizing and archaeological  education which are presented in the literature. The main point is the matter of the social perception of archaeology as an academic discipline or entertainment and the matter to what extend society really needs it. One way to start a dialogue between the audience and scientists might be a survey. This method enables archaeologists to introduce an appropriate programme which may broaden people’s knowledge about the heritage. A direct contact with an archaeologist makes an occasion to create a positive image of archaeology as a socially useful discipline. The article presents the challenges faced by contemporary archaeology that have an influence on researchers. One of the problems presented in the article is commercialization of that discipline and to what extend it might influence the research and its presentation. The main part describes the activities taken by the private company Pracownia Badań Archeologicznych Dantiscum to popularize archaeology. The project was introduced in connection to excavations in the western suburbs of Gdańsk at the Targ Sienny site. Archaeological research and popularizing archaeology in the form of an exhibition and the lectures were conducted in cooperation with the institutions such as museums and the University. The activities presented here are the example of a new approach that takes participation of audience into consideration. Basic and the most emphasized issue is the social potential of archaeology, which used in the appropriate way might change the prospects of its development.