From Antiquities to Heritage Time and the World: Interdisciplinary Studies in Cultural Transformations Series editor: Helge Jordheim, University of Oslo, Norway Published in association with the interdisciplinary research program Cultural Transformations in the Age of Globalization (KULTRANS) at the University of Oslo. Time is moving faster; the world is getting smaller. Behind these popular slogans are actual cultural processes, on global and local scales, that require investigation. Time and the World draws on research in a wide range of fi elds, such as cultural history, anthropology, sociology, literary studies, sociolinguistics and law and sets out to discuss diff erent cultures as sites of transformation in a global context. Th e series off ers interdisciplinary analyses of cultural aspects of globalization in vari- ous historical and geographical contexts, across time and space. Editorial board: Andrew Barry, University of Oxford; Richard Bauman, Indiana University; Costas Douzinas, Birkbeck, University of London; Th omas Hylland Eriksen, University of Oslo; Lynn Hunt, University of California Los Angeles; Fazal Rizvi, University of Melbourne; Hartmut Rosa, Jena University; Inger Jo- hanne Sand, University of Oslo; Stefan Willer, Center for Literary and Cultural Research Berlin; Cliff ord Siskin, New York University Volume 1 From Antiquities to Heritage: Transformations of Cultural Memory Anne Eriksen Forthcoming series titles: Writing Democracy: Th e Norwegian Constitution 1814–2014 Edited by Karen Gammelgaard and Eirik Holmøyvik Conceptualizing the World Edited by Helge Jordheim and Erling Sandmo Understanding Transformations in the Context of Globalization Edited by Vidar Grøtta, Rana Issa, Helge Jordheim and Audun Solli From Antiquities to Heritage Transformations of Cultural Memory { | Anne Eriksen berghahn N E W Y O R K • O X F O R D www.berghahnbooks.com Published in 2014 by Berghahn Books www.berghahnbooks.com © 2014 Anne Eriksen Th e author received support for this project from Th e Research Council of Norway. All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Eriksen, Anne. From antiquities to heritage : transformations of cultural memory / Anne Eriksen. pages cm. — (Time and the world : interdisciplinary studies in cultural transformations ; Volume 1) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-78238-298-0 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-78238-299-7 (ebook) 1. Cultural property—Protection—Philosophy. 2. Historic preservation—Philosophy. 3. Antiquities—Collection and preservation—Philosophy. 4. Cultural property— Protection—Norway. 5. Historic preservation—Norway. 6. Antiquities—Norway— Collection and preservation. I. Title. CC135.E834 2014 363.6'9—dc23 2013029908 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed on acid-free paper ISBN: 978-1-78238-298-0 hardback ISBN: 978-1-78238-299-7 ebook { | Contents Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 Research Questions and Perspectives 2 Between Heritage Studies and Antiquarianism 7 Th e Scope and Content of the Book 10 Chapter 1. Heritage and Cultural Memory 14 Regimes of Historicity 20 Th e Cult of Monuments 23 Chapter 2. In Search of Ancient Heroes 29 Topographies and the Space of Experience 31 What’s in a Name? 33 Th e Implications of Space 37 Hallingdal and Th race 39 A Familiar Realm 44 Chapter 3. Antiquarianism and Epistemic Virtue 46 Facts from Stones 47 From Mortar to Grammar 52 Epistemic Virtues 55 Schøning, the Historian 57 Chapter 4. Ruins and Time 64 Rudera: Decay, Vestiges and Remains 66 Ruin Romanticism 68 Sensibility and National Glory 72 Chapter 5. Mediaeval Monuments 81 Th e Discovery of the Stave Churches 83 Material Evidence – a New Approach 86 vi • Contents J.S. Dahl and the Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments 90 History and the Nation 93 A Change of Regimes? 97 Chapter 6. Museums to Preserve Our Past 99 Systems, Specimens and Antiquities 100 National Awakening 102 Between Temporality and Topography 105 Confl icts and Invisibilities 110 Museums and History 113 Chapter 7. Monuments and Memorials 116 From Royal Glory to Civic Virtue 117 Standing Stones and Universal Values 119 All of Us – Resistance as a Collective Project 124 Time Witnesses 125 At the Museum 127 Chapter 8. Cultural Property, Cultural Heritage 132 Bring Him Home! 134 From Property to Heritage 136 Unique, but Not Particular 143 Chapter 9. Heritage and Presentism 149 Cultural Heritage in the Age of Digitalization – Heritage Year 2009 152 Th e Heritage of Everyday Life 155 Doing Heritage 157 From Change to Choice – By Way of a Conclusion 160 References 166 Index 174 { | Acknowledgements This book is the end product of research interests that have developed over two decades. My initial fascination – during the 1990s – with the role of collective memory in processes of nation building has deepened theoretically and widened empirically over the years. On the one hand, my original interest in nineteenth- century use of historical monuments, popular traditions and oral literature in the construction of national cultures has gradually expanded into investigations of contemporary heritage work as well as of early modern antiquarianism. On the other hand, this growing empirical scope made me see that the ‘use of the past in the present’ not merely varies according to historical period or political contexts, but that even the idea of history itself and the experience of temporality are historically conditioned factors. Th e idea behind this book is that the chang- ing ways of speaking about and assigning value to material remains from the past can give important clues to a history of diff erent historical regimes. Many people have contributed to the development of this project. Th e idea for the book took shape within the frames of the interdisciplinary research program Cultural Transformations in the Age of Globalization (Kultrans) at the University of Oslo, and I would like to thank its academic director, Profes- sor Helge Jordheim, for encouragement and inspiration. I would also like to thank Professors Richard Bauman and Lynn Hunt for their insightful com- ments and inspiring suggestions during the initial phase of my work with the manuscript. My work has also benefi tted from the grant given me by the Nor- wegian Research Council. A number of my colleagues have lived with this book project over the years and have been willing to listen to me and discuss it with me when I felt the need. I would particularly like to thank my colleagues Brita Brenna, Eivind Engebretsen, Jon Viðar Sigurðsson, Ellen Kreft ing, Kyrre Kverndokk and Anne Birgitte Rønning for fruitful discussions, insightful comments, valuable knowledge – and great patience. Finally, I would like to thank John C. An- thony for his assistance with the language and Tomas Åndheim for his meticu- lous work with the manuscript in its fi nal stages. Anne Eriksen Oslo, May 2013 { | Introduction In 1742, Vicar N.J. Bjerregaard started digging into a barrow in his parish of Lardal in Vestfold, in southeastern Norway, hoping to fi nd ‘relics from the heathen past’. But despite the best eff orts of the peasants he had hired for the work, the vicar was disappointed. Th e mound contained nothing but some fragile ceramic pots, a piece of rope with a brass handle and a bit of woollen cloth. So much for the glorious past of the noble forefathers (43 queries from the Government Offi ce 1743, ms 181, Lardal, query no 41). Knowing their life and deeds well from the works of Snorre Sturlason and other saga writers, the vicar had entertained quite other expectations for the barrow’s contents. In 2009, the Norwegian Year of Cultural Heritage was celebrated, with ‘cul- tural heritage in everyday life’ as its special theme. Among the examples of cul- tural heritage described on the project’s website we fi nd family photographs, the smell of a special kind of industrial pollution in a provincial town, old and new clothes, landscapes, audiotaped memories and inventories of household utensils and home decorations. Th e project declares itself and its very inclu- sive profi le to be ‘all-embracing, both socially and time-wise, and comprising both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. By adopting this theme we are hoping to involve a wide range of the population, including volunteers and professionals on the local, regional and national level’ (Th e Norwegian Year of Cultural Heritage 2009). Th ere are considerable diff erences between Bjerregaard’s obvious disap- pointment over the clay pots and other inconspicuous artefacts dug out of the mound and the joy of collecting, preserving and displaying household utensils, love letters and vernacular buildings demonstrated by the people responsible for the Year of Cultural Heritage. Present day heritage workers are enthusiastic about objects from everyday life, while Bjerregaard rejected what he found as merely prosaic household chattels. Th e terminology used to describe the arte- facts has also changed. Bjerregaard looked for what he called relics or antiqui- ties, and the pots did not, in his view, qualify as such. Today, the predominant term is heritage, which comes very close to being an all-inclusive concept, as 2 • From Antiquities to Heritage long as somebody is willing to take on the role of the heir, i.e., to accept the inheritance. Th ese diff erences and the processes of change that have brought them about will be the theme of this book. What is to be explored is not the history of specifi c artefacts, but rather the ways artefacts from the past have been spoken of, evaluated and categorized during the last 250 years and the terms that have been used to name and describe them.