DC9: “The management of Stone Age coastal sites in different environments across Europe: status, challenges, prospects”

Project details

Project description

DC9 will deal with the status, challenges and prospects of the heritage management of Stone Age (STA) coastal sites in today’s coastal areas across different geographical regions and national borders of Europe, in the light of infrastructure development and environmental and climatic challenges, which threaten these sites.

Cases from SE-Norway, W-France, N-Spain and W-Latvia will be compared. The scope and modes of threats through current development, ways of preservation as well as the extent and methods of archaeological documentation (through e.g. rescue excavation, research excavation, citizen science etc.) will be analysed and compared in the light of the different national heritage management systems.

DC9 will thus critically reflect the impact but also limits of cultural heritage management in different STA coastal landscapes in different countries and will thus both gain from and contribute in an innovative way to critical heritage studies.

In terms of method, DC9 will

1. compare different cultural landscapes and environments (case-studies) in which these sites are embedded today, including aspects of their modern development (synergy with DC1)
2. compile a catalogue of STA coastal sites in these areas, documented in national and regional databases, reports and literature (synergy with DC3)
3. compare how the heritage management systems in the different countries deal with these sites, with regard to preservation, integration into modern landscapes, or archaeological excavation (synergy with DC8).

This will be undertaken through study of literature and study-visits in the respective areas. This innovative comparative approach will be a pilot-study and will allow to address the international current state of affairs of managing the STA coastal sites in a cross-regional perspective, identify challenges and to formulate best practices. 

Expected results

1. To give an overview over different systems of management and administration of STA coastal sites in different European countries and environments.
2. To assess their strength and weaknesses, and how they could learn from each other and cross-fertilize.
3. To provide important prospects of how to optimize administration and management of coastal sites in a sustainable way to make them known and visible in their cultural environments, which will lead to a better protection of these sites.

The project provides training for a career within international archaeological, cultural and environmental heritage management (preservation/administration) and policy-making, Green European heritage management and landscape protection.

Academic secondments

University of Latvia (1 month), University of Cantabria (International Institute of Prehistoric Research of Cantabria) (1 month), Fundación Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de Cantabria (1 month) and CNRS (UMR 6566)/University of Rennes (2 months) to study management practices in different regions

Non-academic secondments

ADRAMAR (1 month), to get insights into association work and underwater-archaeological survey.

Supervisors

• Main supervisor: Prof. Almut Schülke (University of Oslo, Museum of Cultural History)
• Co-supervisors: Prof. Thora Petursdottir (University of Oslo, IAKH), Prof. Pablo Arias (University of Cantabria, International Institute of Prehistoric Research of Cantabria)

Eligibility criteria

The recruitment process for all Doctoral candidates in the HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN ArCHe follows a common recruitment strategy, which is based on the European Commission’s Code of Conduct of Recruitment

MSCA-eligibility criteria

• MSCA Mobility Rule: researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment
• All researchers recruited in a DN must be doctoral candidates (i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment)

Necessary local eligibility criteria (specific for the host institution/beneficiary)

• A Master's degree in archaeology or equivalent.
• To be eligible for admission to the doctoral programmes at the University of Oslo, applicants must, as a minimum, have completed a five-year graduation course (Master’s degree or equivalent), including a Master’s thesis of at least 30 ECTS. In special cases, the Faculty may grant admission on the basis of a one-year Master course following an assessment of the study programme’s scope and quality.

Enrolment in local PhD-programme

The research fellow will be enrolled in the PhD programme at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo and is expected to complete the project within the three-year period.

Appropriate academic knowledge and skills for position DC9

Archaeology, Cultural heritage studies, Cultural heritage management, Critical heritage studies, Stone Age archaeology

How to apply

You apply for the position via the website of the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo

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