Drodzy Czytelnicy!

• Authors: Trzciński Maciej , Wrzosek Jakub

Title variants

EN

Dear Readers!

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

With this issue of “Ochrona Zabytków” we wish to honour the memory of the recently deceased Professor Leszek Kajzer, one of the most outstanding scholars and a pioneer of historical archaeology in Poland, for many years a member of Program Council of the National Heritage Board of Poland. The latest times have been the subject of interest of Polish archaeology only since recently. Even though the first research work concerning contemporary times was undertaken in the late 1960s, it played a marginal role, with the prevailing body of research focusing on a period spanning from prehistorical times to the Middle Ages and, with time, also on the early modern era. The situation changed drastically due to systemic transformations of 1989 and the related investment boom. Rescue archaeological excavations preceding the construction of gas pipelines, national roads and buildings in historic city centres quickly revealed, on a previously unprecedented scale, different types of objects roughly dating back to a period from the first half of the 19th century to 1945. Apart from items attributable to armed conflicts, there were also remains of once existing villages, manors, cemeteries or farm buildings. Initially, material artefacts of this type caused a lot of trouble to archaeologists. Insufficient background and historical knowledge made it difficult for researchers to determine whether objects examined by them should be classified as archaeological artefacts or not. At present, i.e. in the second decade of the 21st century, the situation seems to have stabilized to a certain extent. The items most often documented during rescue surveys that accompany the construction of national roads and controlled-access highways include, for example, settlement relics or traces of both world wars. A similar situation exists in cities, where more recent periods increasingly attract the interest of archaeologists, even though there are still many controversial conservation-related and legal issues connected with these archaeologically unexplored areas. It seems that changes to perceptions of contemporary archaeology are determined not only by archaeologists themselves. In a sense, social expectations have an effect on these perceptions, too. As a result, the new specializations that have emerged in archaeology of the most recent past include the archaeology of armed conflicts in the broadest sense of the term or narrowly specialized forensic archaeology, which are of great assistance to law enforcement and judicial authorities. Without any doubt, the dynamic development of research on the most recent history of Poland has also contributed to these changes. Realizing that not all problems have been solved and that archaeology of the contemporary past is only beginning to be noticed by archaeologists, we think that it is essential to publish as many research results as possible. And some of these results are being published, as evidenced by the recent publications. In our opinion, there is still an insufficient number of theoretical texts that would look into certain methodological or conservation-related issues. Trying to satisfy these needs, in October 2016 the National Heritage Board of Poland and the University of Wroclaw organized a conference entitled “Archaeology of the contemporary past”. One of the outcomes of that event is this publication. It presents, in a slightly modified and extended form, some of the topics discussed in Wroclaw. We have selected these and not the other articles so as to provide an insight into theoretical and problem-based approach, focusing on methodological reflections rather than on case studies. We hope that the presented volume will contribute to further development of archaeology of the contemporary past and that it will foster the debate on the most important issues pertaining to this branch of archaeology.

Keywords

PL

Ochrona Zabytków; profesor Leszek Kajzer; Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa; archeologia czasów najnowszych

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 2017
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 3-4

Dates

published

2017

Contributors

author

Trzciński Maciej

author

Wrzosek Jakub

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247