Cult Places at Former Oppida in South‐East Gaul: Questions of Memory,Tradition and Identity

This paper offers a new perspective on the reuse of Celtic fortified hilltops by Gallo‐Roman shrines. Going beyond the simplistic explanation of continuity, I shall argue for the role of memory in the perception of the landscape and in the location of some Gallo‐Roman shrines. This paper opposes the argument for continuity of sacred spaces and Celtic cults during the Roman period despite abandonment of the settlements. The evidence supports a more symbolic protohistoric expression, beyond that attendant on the place of a cult. The continuity concealed breaks, changes and modifications. I put forward the concept of ‘fictive continuity’, after Hobsbawm. The reclamation of a place of memory assigns a greater visibility to these shrines, enhancing their topographical appearance at the highest points in their respective landscapes, thus enabling the sites to appropriate fully space and place and to ensure cohesion within the community.     

Exploitation of groundwater in the oasis of Masāfī (UAE): A diachronic perspective

In order to understand the role of water resources in the establishment and long-term evolution of settlements investigated by the French Archaeological Mission in the UAE in the oasis of Masāfī, wells and springs of all periods, identified at the surface and in stratified contexts, were mapped and studied thanks to a multidisciplinary approach combining archaeology, geomorphology, geoarchaeology and ethnography. Our study demonstrates that:

• – The Masāfī oasis was located in a specific geological setting entailing the accumulation of groundwater resources at reachable depth.
• – The groundwater resources remained rather stable from the mid-second millennium BC to the second half of the twentieth century AD. In this respect, the apparent abandonment of the oasis during some periods cannot be explained by water depletion.
• – The groundwater resources have decreased sharply since the second half of the twentieth century AD, due to the introduction of new water extraction technologies, motor pumps and then drillings, as a result of the modernisation and industrialisation of UAE economy.

Our study also stresses the importance of well and spring irrigation in the development of the sedentary settlements in south-eastern Arabia, technologies that have often been neglected in the regional archaeological literature in favour of the qanāt.     

A cultural justice approach to popular music heritage in deindustrialising cities

ABSTRACT

Deindustrialisation contributes to significant transformations for local communities, including rising unemployment, poverty and urban decay. Following the ‘creative city’ phenomenon in cultural policy, deindustrialising cities across the globe have increasingly turned to arts, culture and heritage as strategies for economic diversification and urban renewal. This article considers the potential role that popular music heritage might play in revitalising cities grappling with industrial decline. Specifically, we outline how a ‘cultural justice approach’ can be used within critical heritage studies to assess the benefits and drawbacks of such heritage initiatives. Reflecting on examples from three deindustrialising cities – Wollongong, Australia; Detroit, USA; and Birmingham, UK – we analyse how popular music heritage can produce cultural justice outcomes in three key ways: practices of collection, preservation and archiving; curation, storytelling and heritage interpretation; and mobilising communities for collective action.