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Re-Creating the Past: on the Quality of Archaeological Reconstruction on Gotland

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Re-Creating the Past: on the Quality of Archaeological Reconstruction on Gotland http://www.diva-portal.org This is the published version of a paper published in Current Swedish Archaeology. Citation for the original published paper (version of record): Petersson, B. (1999) Re-creating the Past: On the Quality of Archaeological Reconstruction on Gotland. Current Swedish Archaeology, 7: 131-148 Access to the published version may require subscription. N.B. When citing this work, cite the original published paper. Permanent link to this version: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-53833 131 Re-creating the Past On the Quality of Archaeological Reconstruction on Gotland Bodil Petersson Re-creating the past in full-scale, open-air reconstructions has been done for a long time, but the phenomenon has been accelerating and changing character during the last two decades. The article examines how the reconstruction activities are motivated. Explicit aims are contrasted with implicit motives inherent in reconstruction. Public utility is proposed as an important excuse for the reconstruction activities. As a consequence of the relationship between explicit aims and public utility, we get a rigid form of quality thinking that expresses elitism, Instead of fruitless criticism we can express more clearly what we expect from a reconstruction, and why. Examples used are taken from the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Bodil Petersson, Institute ofArchaeology, University of Lund, Sand- gatan I, SE-223 50 Lund, Sweden. THE VIKING VILLAGE an axe against a tree trunk. Then he showed I knew there was a Viking village on Gotland. me his talents in spinning wool and working Beyond this fact I knew nothing about the in the smithy. It was late in the summer and village itself, however. I expected a place full there were few visitors. The late season and of life. I could see myself mingling among fading enthusiasm was the reason, I decided, happy tourists and active villagers demon- for the apparently weary staff. I went into the strating crafts and arranging competitions. I long-house where no obvious elforts had been imagined myself being invited to take part in made to hide the anachronistic traits of the the exciting and varied everyday life of a sawmill-produced planks. In the centre of the Gotlandic Viking family. hall there was a high settle with the brutal When I arrived at the village one of the features of Odin carved in wood. Torches two villagers, both of whom were men, was illuminated the interior of the hall. In one at the entrance taking the admission fee. corner there was a small exhibition showing When his cell phone rang, he hurried oA'and Viking life and reproductions of Viking hid behind the entrance shed. artefacts. I began to feel gloomy about this Inside the earthen rampart, which was Viking experience and decided to leave the evidently built with the help of an excavator place. But before I left, I asked for some and which surrounded the village, I caught pamphlets about the village and its activities. sight of a tired-looking guy dressed in some- When I read the colourful pamphlet, I was thing old and greyish with a rope round his certainly happy not to have experienced the waist. He asked if I wanted to try swinging activities offered: Current Swedish Archaeology, Vol. 7, I999 132 Bodi I Petersson Number ol reeonstruetions 1900-091910-191920-291930-391940-4919SO-591960-691970-791980-89]990-97 Establishment period Fig. l. Dia& rum showing when the reconstructions tnenlionedin the article were established. "Erik Bloodaxe ruled his farm as a sove- activities. The Gotlandic Viking village is reign. The free men and women of his great certainly of a more peculiar type, but I am clan were strongly united, and blood feud was inclined to suspect that this reconstruction is always claimed if one of the clan members not the only one to give ambiguous messages was killed. Erik Bloodaxe and his men to its visitors. What shall I expect —science, exchanged slaves and furs into silver coins. education, tourism, experience, adventure, A man of Erik Bloodaxe's caliber can sure pleasure, anachronism, or disappointment? arrange great parties. The evening begins In our time there is an accelerating ten- with all sorts of martial games —throwing dency to re-create the past (fig. I). With this axes. .and other exciting war games. At the article I wish to examine the following table we eat with our bare hands One thing questions about reconstruction activities: How is certain —this will be an evening you will are the explicit aims of reconstruction activi- never forget!" (Vikingabyn Gotland Infor- ties formulated? What implicit purposes can mation Folder n. d. , author's translation). be traced? What is the relationship between The programme of the Viking village is the explicitly outlined purposes of recon- offered to schoolchildren and tourists as well struction and the modern utilitarian morality? as business companies. Perhaps Erik Blood- Do the purposes aAect the aspect of quality? axe's party is well suited to the advertised What is good-quality reconstruction? "leadership development", strengthening the team and showing who is the boss. THE CONCEPT OF RECONSTRUCTION The impressions I had of the village made First, however, I want to discuss the concept me reflect upon the relation between explicit of reconstruction. It is a central concept in and implicit purposes of the reconstruction this connection, and it is not unambiguous. Current Swedish Archaeotogy, Vol. 7, l999 Re-creating the Pas( 133 In everyday speech reconstruction is used in reconstruct (rebuild, put parts together to a very wide sense. It refers to such different a whole) for things as textual descriptions, drawings, modernise (without consideration small-scale models in museums, and full- history) scale representations in museums and out- (Ottosen 1984:3). doors. Reconstruction refers to copies, re- From this we can conclude that to reconstruct plicas, restorations, re-erected buildings and is far more intervening than to restore. monuments, reconstructions made from Reconstruction is often done from much fragments, and even imitations. slighter traces than those in restorations. This Reconstruction within archaeology today fits well with the state of most archaeological is carried out both as a science and as traces that constitute the basis for recon- mediation. The word itself means rebuilding, struction. reproduction, re-creation. Reconstruction is During the 19'" and well into the 20'" to present the past by refitting fragments with century there was immense discussion on how interpretations to fill in what is missing. to restore the past, in particular the medieval Reconstruction has also been part of the buildings. There was a schism between history of archaeology since the 18'" century antiquarian-orientated advocates (e.g. John (Petersson 1998). It contains an ambition to Ruskin in England, and later Alois Riegl in rebuild or to restore something to its former Germany) and those purporting the norms of state. It is usually done if something has been unity of style in building restoration (e.g. destroyed or severely changed. Within Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc in France). archaeology reconstruction is primarily The antiquarian-orientated advocates were associated with paper reconstruction or aiming at historical preservation, while the reconstruction inside the museum walls unity-of-style advocates were more concerned (Jacobsson 1995:33ff),often of smaller things with the unity and purity of style, to restore such as pots, weapons and clothing. But even something to its former glory (Kåring indoor exhibitions of whole milieus are 1992:24, 59ff, 187ff, 312ff). This schism has frequent, where huts and living areas are relevance for the reconstruction activities of presented often together with smells and today. In our time there are both reconstruc- sounds. tors who have a cautious attitude, and those There is also a theoretical aspect of the who primarily care about presenting a vision concept ofreconstruction. In connection with of the past in which historically authentic building restoration there is an extensive details do not matter as much. discussion among architects concerning the In this article I use the concept of re- meaning of different relevant concepts. eonstruction as a comprehensive label for the Michael Ottosen discusses the different values ambition —for the purpose of science, media- of restoration. Ottosen uses the concept of tion, tourism, or adventure —to re-create the restoration as overarching, comprising such past in full-scale, open-air context. This phenomena as reconstruction. He refers to delimitation is made so that I can avoid the concepts arranged on a scale according to the discussion of traditional museum mediation degree of intervention: and go a step further to discuss relatively new forms of reconstruction activities used for a put in order wide range ofpurposes. My use ofthe concept preserve (maintain, protect) is close to the everyday use ofthe word, which restore (re-represent) contains different elements as mentioned renovate (renew) above. In my discussion I do not have direct copy (imitate) use for the division among replica, copy, and Cttrrent Sw:edish Archaeology, Vol. 7, l999 134 Bodil Petersson reconstruction. But I avoid using the concept others are stationary. The variety is great. of restoration since it primarily concerns I have chosen to put the reconstructions objects, often buildings still standing, where into four different groups. The settlement the state of preservation is much better than group of reconstructions contains such ele- in the case ofthe reconstructions I study. They ments as houses, churches, walls, banks and have other qualifications with regard to the ramparts, strongholds, cult sites, pasture and state of preservation. arable land. The monument group includes graves, standing stones, cult houses and stone RECONSTRUCTION ON GOTLAND settings. The communication group includes The island of Gotland has quite a number of boats, wagons, bridges, roads, harbours and archaeological reconstructions (fig.
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