Using Facebook to build a community in the Conjunto Arqueológico de Carmona (Seville, Spain)

Abstract

When the Conjunto Arqueologico de Carmona (Seville) was inaugurated as the first open-air archaeological museum in Spain in 1885, the institution enjoyed a local community of people interested in archaeology, but this community lost strength over time. One hundred years later, the institution has the goal of being a participative museum, and rekindling a special relationship with the local population, to form a new community of users which complements visitors. This article presents the preliminary results of a descriptive and exploratory study involving Facebook use to find out the demographic characteristics of people interested in the Conjunto Arqueologico de Carmona, as previous research to form a local community interested in archaeology and cultural heritage. Special attention is paid to the role played by education through archaeology as a means to improve social empowerment.