About us
What do we mean by Sustainable Archaeologies?
Sustainable Archaeologies work toward shifts in archaeological practice - especially in response to climate change, armed conflict and calls for decolonisation - that are equitable, inclusive, community-centred and eco-conscious. This involves collaborating with local and Indigenous communities in both our understanding and management of heritage sites, objects and practices. It also supports community-led research and capacity-building in both the heritage sector and local communities - offering training and educational opportunities, improving labour conditions in the field and making archaeological knowledge more accessible. Sustainable Archaeologies recognise that heritage work must move away from extractive models and toward practices that prioritise justice, environmental awareness, human and non-human rights, as well as cultural and natural sustainability.
Our thematic priorities
- Building New Legacies: Community-Centered approaches to Archaeology and Heritage. Community members are not just beneficiaries but co-producers of knowledge.
- Dealing with Legacy Data: Critical Approaches to Archaeological Archives, including Digital and Creative Engagements. Engaging with legacy data is both about the duty of care towards material, and an environmentally sustainable approach.
- Studying Destructive Legacies: Critical Approaches to Conflict and Post-Conflict Heritage. Foregrounding ecological destruction from the toxicity of industrialised landscapes where arms were manufactured and militarised landscaped where arms are tested.
- Engaging critically with Histories of Archaeology, to recognise the social and economic role of archaeology in the global long term.