Fun in ruins: Archaeology’s serious rut

Abstract

and archaeologists have long told stories while having fun in the process, either when sharing present archaeological data with the public and other scholars or as a tool to help them interpret the past (Grima 2017, 76). On a similar note, the use of play and games in archaeology is perhaps viewed in the same way with duality (if not multiplicity) in mind: as a medium to engage with the public, students and other academics, and as a tool to explore and interpret the past. In this regard, the paper offers a refreshing perspective on play in archaeology and thus almost strips away the guilt of those who enjoy playing and having fun in our field: which is in itself a beautiful playground and often exactly the reason we became archaeologists in the first place, affording us the chance to play with dirt under the sun, discover exciting artefacts from the past and interpret them, creating stories about the people who were here before us.