Book reviews

Abstract

This paper explores not just a framework for the protection of cultural heritage relating to a certain place, but also its use as a tool for the enhancement and survival of an identity, based on tradition, common history, and respect for the surrounding environment and identities. The aim is to secure the communities' identities within a common economic framework based on the sustainable development of tourism.

After considering the social complexity of interpreting Spanish twentieth-century history (especially the Civil War and dictatorship), the paper considers the management and interpretation of a Civil War complex at Villargord o del Cabriel, in the Valencia region, which includes the concerns and desires for both resource conservation and economic development. It is proposed that this can be achieved by short-term strategies for community involvement, combined with long-term concerns for conservation of the architecture and the environment, educational and interpretive strategies for the park and surrounding landscape, monitoring, and review, and sustainable tourism in the area.     

Living with Heritage: The Potentials of and Pressures on the Heritage Landscape of Gwollu,Upper West Region,Ghana

Abstract

The impact of development has been identified as one of the most pressing concerns in heritage management in Africa. At the same time, heritage has also been recognized as having the potential to bring tourists, and thus growth, to local economies. Communities that wish to benefit from the latter have to balance developmental pressures against the preservation of heritage, and various sectors of the community may view these priorities differently. In this paper, I discuss some of the potentials of, and pressures on, the heritage landscape of Gwollu, a town in Ghana's Upper West Region. I use Gwollu's brickmakers as a case study to illustrate the small-scale everyday development that can have a lasting impact on a town's heritage resources, and how internal divisions within communities may affect the heritage tourism process.     

A Disgruntled Tourist in King Arthur's Court: Archaeology and Identity at Tintagel,Cornwall

Abstract

'Welcome to Tintagel, the birthplace of King Arthur' is a phrase often repeated at this small village on the north coast of Cornwall where legend, childhood stories and merchandise all serve to attract thousands of visitors per year. As 'a place to go', the area provides stunning coastal scenery, a romantic ruined castle and a highly commercialised village. Tintagel Island, owned by the Duchy of Cornwall but managed by English Heritage, plays centre stage as the 'birthplace' in question. On-site, the character of Arthur is largely debunked as a literary phenomenon and, furthermore, a survey of day-trippers revealed that visitors were left in an interpretive limbo — arriving with ideas of Arthur and leaving knowing little about Tintagel.

Whilst the aesthetics of the castle and scenery go some way towards mitigating against disappointment, on site encounters with kitsch representations of the past combine with more amorphous senses of pseudo-spiritual atmospheres as well as experiences of walking, eating and drinking to ultimately provide a 'grand day out'. The marketing ephemera and heritage presentation all serve to create, reinforce and suppress different identities of place which are revealed as being a fairly cohesive package of Celtic-Arthuriana. This paper questions the ways in which visitors' expectation and imagination are mediated through experience of place.     

The HMS Swift shipwreck: The development of underwater heritage protection in Argentina

Abstract

The aim of this article is to evaluate, with a critical perspective, the legal framework for heritage protection in Argentina, viewing it within an international context and focusing on the HMS Swift shipwreck – sunk in Puerto Deseado (Santa Cruz province) in 1770 – as a case study. Moreover, some initial proposals for a management plan are presented as a first step in thinking about the challenges of preserving underwater sites in Argentinian Patagonia.

Through this analysis some interesting points are outlined, including the reasons that make the Swift shipwreck a leading case in Argentina. It is the first interdisciplinary underwater archaeology project in the country comprising archaeologists who are also divers; it is supported by national authorities; and it is the first project of its kind to give underwater archaeologists experience in dealing with archaeological research and preservation in an environment of multiple conflicting interests.

The international relevance of the Swift case relies on the nature of underwater cultural heritage as an international resource. The project's history is located in an international setting, derived from ihternational trade and communication, in which many ships and their contents have been lost far from their origin or destination. At a national level the Swift is a wreck with significant historical and cultural value. It is in a unique state of preservation and its location near to the shore makes it highly accessible. Locally,HMS Swift will be relevant when Puerto Deseado's community starts to recognise it as a significant part of their own heritage and local people become involved in the preservation of the wreck.     

Citizen and Monument. The Case of the Greek Island of Naxos

Abstract

Naxos, the largest island of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea in Greece, has been continuously inhabited from Neolithic times to the present and is full of architectural remains from all historical periods. Traditional settlements, castles, towers, numerous Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches, and several archaeological sites testify to its long and significant history.

The relationship between inhabitants and their archaeological heritage is multifaceted and of special interest. This article analyses the history of this relationship, the reasons that shaped its quality, the problems, and perspectives. It also explores the ways in which citizens, in this particular case the Naxians, participate in the protection of their monuments at a time when tourist development dominates the Naxian economy.     

Visitor Management,the Development of Sustainable Cultural Tourism and Local Community Participation at Chogha Zanbil,Iran

Abstract

Chogha Zanbil, an Elamite ziggurat and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Iran, has considerable potential as a cultural tourism destination but currently it receives a surprisingly small number of visitors. The site has seen a successful international conservation project over the past decade: now it needs a complete heritage strategy, which will give sufficient weight to developing sustainable tourism in a way that ensures the site's conservation, as well as its effective presentation to the public. This paper combines existing approaches to sustainable cultural development with primary research in Iran, including interviews with different stakeholders. It uses the Chogha Zanbil case study to suggest how visitor management strategies and cultural tourism can equip a site with the necessary tools to receive visitors and manage their impact while generating revenue for the site's maintenance and preservation. It also highlights the importance of local community participation in this process and provides examples of how local villagers can participate in, and benefit from, the development of sustainable cultural tourism at Chogha Zanbil.     

Casting Identity in the Cultural Tourism Industry: Greek Tourist Guides in a 'Mission' of Heritage Interpretation

Abstract

The focus of this article is on how identity on a local level is expressed through cultural heritage interpretation and negotiated in an environment of globalization, but also multiculturalism and promotion of locality, like the European Union (EU). Interpretation is public communication of perceptions and values attached to heritage, and a main component of cultural tourism. Tourist guides in Greece, where guiding is strictly regulated, have been confronted with the EU on several occasions. Through the examination of this conflict, issues such as rights of interpretation, the projected image and identity of place and people, otherness and identity realization, the role of education and especially archaeology in governing, as perceived by the Greek tourist guides, are examined and analysed in the contexts of audience, state and the EU.     

Shining a Light on Dark Tourism: German Bunkers in the British Channel Islands

Abstract

Lying at the heart of Tonbridge and Ashworth's 'dissonant heritage' are issues of disinheritance and the subsequent discord that this can cause. Implicit in this is the lesson for heritage professionals to make sure that the heritage they manage is presented in an honest, ethical and inclusive manner that minimises dissonance. But what, precisely, does this mean in practice? What if those who 'own' the heritage are not professionals, but deeply committed and interested amateur volunteer enthusiasts who have made it their life's work over decades to conserve and look after the heritage, but who are not particularly interested in, or actively resistant to, issues that so concern professionals? These are some of the issues which periodically arise in the British Channel Islands over the most visible heritage of Occupation — the German fortifications, or 'bunkers'.