RESEARCH REPORTS

2. REPORTS ON THE BURRA COMMUNITY ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT: Burra Community Archaeology Project
by Claire Smith, Flinders University

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The Value of Taking Archaeology to the Public by Paul Saeki. The value of archaeology to modern society has been topic for much debate, and very often archaeologists need to justify their activities to the broader public. In order to achieve outcomes that are worthwhile for the public, archaeologists need to stepaway from purely academic objectives and look at the products that can be produced from a site for the community.

The Burra Community Archaeology Project is unique in that while maintaining academic integrity it strives to develop products in many different ways. When considering "products" of archaeological activity they can be identified as primarily consisting of three types: information, processes and artefacts. These products are a result of the value-added that archaeological activity contributes to the development of a particular site. The 'information product' produced from archaeological activity can take a number of different forms from an excavation report, a site impact statement, to books published for education and public interest, or as in the case of Burra, information brochures and visitor guides for tourists.

The 'process product' consists of the archaeological activity itself, which attracts broad public interest. With the excavations in Burra, promotion through brochures and tours encouraged the public to visit the site and get involved in the excavations. It provided a great opportunity for the public to experience the past.

The 'artefact product' excavated from the site were developed to create an exhibition and thus provided a further tool for the public to better understand the past.

Thus it is sometimes important to consider the non-academic aspects of archaeological activity in order to generate outcomes that can be used and appreciated by the general public. This important because of the need to show that archaeologists are engaged in the development of the past not for their own ends, but for the benefit of all people who have a stake in their common past.

Fragments of the Past Archaeological Exhibition by Cherrie De Leiuen. The initial impetus for this exhibition came from a community member and Director of the Burra Regional Art Gallery who believed that it would be a good idea to showcase material from the recent archaeological excavations in the area. This provided a real challenge for a number of reasons. The primary difficulty was time, as I only had four weeks from the excavation till the exhibition opening, and because this was only a first, short excavation I was concerned about a lack of material. Hence the title Fragments of the Past'. This exhibition is unusual because of the differing and unique factors involved in this project.

Firstly, archaeological displays are usually survey shows put together after many seasons of work. They generally contain a more complete picture, objects and special finds. As this was an historical archaeological site I chose to solve the problem of a lack of material by examining the local history collections and archives of Burra to find items to complement artefacts. I selected many different objects from a bible to photographs and clothing, but all had some connection to Burra.Many of these have been donated from family collections. While some of these also lacked a definate provenance or context they also represented 'fragments'.

Secondly as the exhibition articulated so closely with the excavation, its themes reflected the material recovered. Thus it focused on the lives of ordinary, working people. Usually special finds are selected for display in archaeology based exhibitions, it is those with status or wealth that are represented and common items and artefacts become lost. Groups such as women, children and the poor are frequently absent. The exhibition is different because of this.

Thirdly the exhibition has been planned to have a life and grow after the initial showing. Information and images focused around education and archaeology are the main basis of the design, with additional artefacts aimed at being included as seasons progress, without changing the themes and feel of the display. It is also quite flexible for touring and would be applicable to many mining towns globally.