The ethics and aesthetics of archaeology
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Philosophy
Abstract
This project is the first of its kind in the UK to bring together philosophers, archaeologists and museum and heritage practitioners to focus on the relation between ethics and aesthetics, and to explore how this relation shapes our understanding and practice of archaeological stewardship.
The project is led by two scholars based at Durham University: Dr. Elisabeth Schellekens, from the Department of Philosophy, who specialises in aesthetics, emotions and ethics; and Dr. Robin Skeates, from the Department of Archaeology, who is a specialist in Central Mediterranean prehistoric archaeology and in museum and heritage studies. The complementarity of their interests is a reflection of the potential of the project to successfully bring together scholars from seemingly separate disciplinary backgrounds.
More specifically, the project explores how ethical concepts - such as moral responsibility, stewardship, duty, virtue, and developing our moral education - are related to our abilities required to create, appreciate and curate archaeological objects with aesthetic qualities.
The practical exploration of these concepts is both stimulating and rewarding for philosophers, while thinking about these philosophical issues will help archaeologists and museum and heritage managers re-evaluate their ideas about problems such as the long-term preservation of archaeological remains, the ownership and repatriation of artefacts, the role of Indigenous communities as custodians of their heritage, the treatment of human remains, the respect owed to past and living cultures, perceptions of antiquity and national identity, the aesthetic (as well as scientific) qualities and value of ancient objects, and the illicit (and legal) trading of antiquities. It could also lead them to reformulate their codes of professional ethics.
The project benefits from collaborating with The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford and with The British Museum - both museums housing world-class collections, and both deeply concerned with the aesthetic and ethical implications of their objects.
The project also benefits from close collaborations with the Centre for the Ethics of Cultural Heritage at Durham University, the University of London's School of Advanced Studies and Institute of Philosophy, the Centre for Society and Heritage at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the Centre of Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage at Simon Fraser University in Canada.
In practice, the project will bring together philosophers, archaeologists and museum and heritage practitioners in a series of meetings (two workshops and one conference) spread out over a year and a half, involving prominent international scholars, UK-based researchers - including specialists, new researchers and research students, professionals from the museum and heritage sector, and interested members of the public.
These meetings will lead to several significant publications, both on-line and in print. These are expected to be of interest not only to philosophers and archaeologists, but also to anthropologists, museum practitioners, heritage professionals, and also to museum and heritage audiences.
Activities will also continue after the end of the project, including further publications, conference sessions, and the planning of a museum exhibition.
The project is led by two scholars based at Durham University: Dr. Elisabeth Schellekens, from the Department of Philosophy, who specialises in aesthetics, emotions and ethics; and Dr. Robin Skeates, from the Department of Archaeology, who is a specialist in Central Mediterranean prehistoric archaeology and in museum and heritage studies. The complementarity of their interests is a reflection of the potential of the project to successfully bring together scholars from seemingly separate disciplinary backgrounds.
More specifically, the project explores how ethical concepts - such as moral responsibility, stewardship, duty, virtue, and developing our moral education - are related to our abilities required to create, appreciate and curate archaeological objects with aesthetic qualities.
The practical exploration of these concepts is both stimulating and rewarding for philosophers, while thinking about these philosophical issues will help archaeologists and museum and heritage managers re-evaluate their ideas about problems such as the long-term preservation of archaeological remains, the ownership and repatriation of artefacts, the role of Indigenous communities as custodians of their heritage, the treatment of human remains, the respect owed to past and living cultures, perceptions of antiquity and national identity, the aesthetic (as well as scientific) qualities and value of ancient objects, and the illicit (and legal) trading of antiquities. It could also lead them to reformulate their codes of professional ethics.
The project benefits from collaborating with The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford and with The British Museum - both museums housing world-class collections, and both deeply concerned with the aesthetic and ethical implications of their objects.
The project also benefits from close collaborations with the Centre for the Ethics of Cultural Heritage at Durham University, the University of London's School of Advanced Studies and Institute of Philosophy, the Centre for Society and Heritage at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the Centre of Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage at Simon Fraser University in Canada.
In practice, the project will bring together philosophers, archaeologists and museum and heritage practitioners in a series of meetings (two workshops and one conference) spread out over a year and a half, involving prominent international scholars, UK-based researchers - including specialists, new researchers and research students, professionals from the museum and heritage sector, and interested members of the public.
These meetings will lead to several significant publications, both on-line and in print. These are expected to be of interest not only to philosophers and archaeologists, but also to anthropologists, museum practitioners, heritage professionals, and also to museum and heritage audiences.
Activities will also continue after the end of the project, including further publications, conference sessions, and the planning of a museum exhibition.
Planned Impact
In addition to the academic beneficiaries outlined in the previous section, museum, gallery and heritage site curators, managers and educators, and their publics, will be interested in, contribute to and benefit from the proposed outputs of this research, which are directly concerned with current issues such as: the long-term preservation of archaeological remains, the ownership and repatriation of artefacts, the role of Indigenous communities as custodians of their heritage, the treatment of human remains, the respect owed to past and living cultures, perceptions of antiquity and national identity, the aesthetic (as well as scientific) qualities and value of ancient objects, and the illicit (and legal) trading of antiquities.
We are delighted that Dr. Simon Thurley has agreed to participate in our network. In addition to being a leading architectural historian (with an interest, for example, in architectural protection and the rise of a state aesthetic), Dr. Thurley is the Chief Executive of English Heritage, the Government's principal advisor on the historic environment in England, and a regular broadcaster on television and radio. Through him, we hope that the results of our research may have a significant impact on national heritage policy and practice and on public opinion regarding the nation's heritage, even within the timescale of this project.
Likewise, Dr. Johnathan Williams, Keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe at The British Museum, has agreed to participate in our network, having contributed a paper on 'Museums and the stewardship of ancient religious art' to our initial Durham meeting.
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, and in particular Dr. Susan Walker, Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, have formally agreed to be partners for our project, and, as a consequence, have promised to host our second workshop (on 'The role of aesthetic appreciation in the ethical evaluation of archaeological artefacts'), offering for free the facilities of the adjacent Stelios Ioannou School for Research in Classical and Byzantine Studies in as an ideal venue for our Oxford workshop. We hope to attract a variety of museum staff to this particular meeting, to engage with the debates, for the long-term benefit of the public collections and institutions that they represent.
We are delighted that Dr. Simon Thurley has agreed to participate in our network. In addition to being a leading architectural historian (with an interest, for example, in architectural protection and the rise of a state aesthetic), Dr. Thurley is the Chief Executive of English Heritage, the Government's principal advisor on the historic environment in England, and a regular broadcaster on television and radio. Through him, we hope that the results of our research may have a significant impact on national heritage policy and practice and on public opinion regarding the nation's heritage, even within the timescale of this project.
Likewise, Dr. Johnathan Williams, Keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe at The British Museum, has agreed to participate in our network, having contributed a paper on 'Museums and the stewardship of ancient religious art' to our initial Durham meeting.
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, and in particular Dr. Susan Walker, Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, have formally agreed to be partners for our project, and, as a consequence, have promised to host our second workshop (on 'The role of aesthetic appreciation in the ethical evaluation of archaeological artefacts'), offering for free the facilities of the adjacent Stelios Ioannou School for Research in Classical and Byzantine Studies in as an ideal venue for our Oxford workshop. We hope to attract a variety of museum staff to this particular meeting, to engage with the debates, for the long-term benefit of the public collections and institutions that they represent.
| Description | We have developed an enthusiastic network of scholars and interested professionals who, together, have made real progress in discussing the complimentarities and diverse perspectives of Philosophy, Archaeology, and related disciplines. We have categorized the original questions, unpacked and refined them into sub-sections, and hence developed new research questions for future study. Many philosophers have expressed a keen interest in engaging more with Archaeology. By drawing on a wide set of case studies (ranging from Egyptian mummies to Aboriginal sand art), we have demonstrated the wide breadth of applicability of aesthetics and ethics in Archaeology. We have contributed to the on-going discussion about aesthetics and ethics in museum contexts, and entered into dialogues with museum practitioners about issues such as stewardship, appropriation, aesthetic value of objects, etc. They have shown themselves to be very open and interested in the perspectives and insights we can offer. |
| Exploitation Route | One example of how our findings have been put to use by others is the workshop, "Art, Aesthetics and Function", to be held at The British Museum in April 2015. This event was inspired by our first workshop, held at the Institute of Philosophy in November 2013, "The Return of Aesthetics to Archaeology". My Co-Investigator were also invited to contribute to an AHRC-funded project on Aesthetic and Cognitive Value at York in the Spring of 2014, where the central theme was Chauvet Cave and its paintings. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/philosophy/research/research_projects/aes.eth.arch/ |
| Description | Our findings have been used primarily in virtue of the way in which we have disentangled a variety of new philosophical questions for archaeologists to ponder, as well as conceptual tools and distinction for them to make use of, in addition to the manner in which archaeologists have provided a richer range of examples and test cases for philosophers to use and refer to. Also, archaeologists have provided philosophers with a word of caution about the limits of archaeological data and interpretation in archaeology (e.g. regarding complexities arising from the repatriation of sacred objects to their original sites and problems to do with archaeological sites in war zones). Museum curators and cultural heritage professionals have been offered new methodologies upon which to reflect and with which to make decisions about the difficult questions they address. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |