Into the Wild: Archaeology, Rewilding, and the Historic Environment

This project explores the entangled relationships between rewilding, wilderness, and the historic environment. Rewilding aims to restore landscapes into self-sustaining ecosystems, towards a pristine 'past wilderness'. This problematic conceptual framework has developed from the historical-cultural context of colonialism and has led to intense discussion amongst archaeologists. Scottish landscapes have been shaped by human and animal action over millennia, and yet are increasingly being rewilded. I will explore the tensions posed by rewilding historic landscapes for archaeology, policymakers, and stakeholders and develop a testable framework for the integration of cultural heritage and archaeological expertise into rewilding projects in the historic environment.