Session: #318

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
1. Networks, networking, communication: archaeology of interactions
Session format:
Regular session

Title & Content

Title:
Towards an Archaeology of Partisan and Resistance Networks and Landscapes in 20th-Century Europe
Content:
Resistance to occupying forces and state repression took many forms in 20th-century Europe, ranging from covert networks that served to conceal or assist the escape of vulnerable individuals or families, to guerrilla warfare. This wide spectrum of activities included not only armed opposition but also many forms of passive resistance. Acts of resistance were undertaken by men, women, and children. But as Sarah De Nardi has noted, these actions were often ‘transient, placeless, and invisible.’ (De Nardi 2017). How, then, may we best recover archaeological traces of such underground networks, and the courageous yet fleeting moments of defiance and dissent which they supported? We invite contributors to explore the tangible and intangible heritage of resistance movements and operations across 20th-century Europe. We welcome archaeological perspectives on the following themes:
- How can historical sources be combined with archaeological evidence to understand the lived experience of resistance activities?
- How have recent advances in archaeological remote sensing and the systematic use of metal detecting refined understandings of how resistance personnel negotiated landscapes and created hidden camps, bunkers, and other features in forested areas?
- How have multi-scalar approaches to conflict archaeology changed the study of partisan or resistance networks?
- Can traces of resistance operations be found in urban settings?
- Material remains of mass repression of real or suspected civilian supporters of partisans (e.g., destroyed villages)
- How can archaeological traces of resistance activities be managed and presented in contemporary landscapes and museums?
- How has the contested heritage of former resistance sites divided contemporary societies?

De Nardi, S. (2017). The invisible materialities of the Italian resistance movement during World War 2. Building Bridges: Abstract Book of The 23rd Annual Meeting Of The European Association Of Archaeologists, Maastricht, Netherlands, 105-105. Retrieved from http://www.eaa2017maastricht.nl/download2476
Keywords:
resistance, partisan, conflict, archaeology, Europe
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:

Organisers

Main organiser:
James Symonds (Netherlands) 1
Co-organisers:
Pavel Vařeka (Czech Republic) 2
Affiliations:
1. University of Amsterdam
2. University of West Bohemia