Between the Lines: Toward a Recontextualized Archaeological Practice through Dialogues between Fieldwork and Archival Research

Abstract

Archival material from archaeological fieldwork contained in private and public collections has long been the object of study within various archaeological contexts. Often, however, such material is used as a backdrop or as anecdotal information and not as a point of departure. In this special issue, contributions focus on a variety of ways in which archival material and other kinds of legacy data can usefully be integrated into or provide the ground for archaeological projects and archaeological research, including preparations of new projects or for gaining a deeper understanding of ongoing projects or past projects. Modern developments, conflicts, wars, and the recent pandemic, have all accentuated the need for the curation of archival material and legacy data to an even higher degree than hitherto suspected and revealed that such material often holds information just as crucial to the project as archaeological raw data directly from the ground.