The Timeline

Applied Archaeology in Køge Nord

Lecture by Curator and researcher Anna S. Beck (PhD), Museum Southeast Denmark & PhD Fellow Stefanie Langaa Jensen, Museum Southeast Denmark & University of Copenhagen.

Abstract

Today, within the context of Danish legislation, the aim of development- led archaeology is to secure and produce “significant new knowledge”. Often, the consequence of this requirement is an isolated, retrospective focus on the past. Challenging this dogma, this lecture asks: what if the practice of development-led archaeological investigations of the past were to be embedded in the context of the present?

This question is the starting point for a new project in Køge Nord, a large urban area currently under development. In the project, we investigate how the ongoing transformations of Køge Nord might act as a laboratory for exploring archaeological methods that strengthen the dialogue between the archaeological investigations and the present context in which they take place. The lecture will present our current results from the inclusion of the local community in the archaeological investigations, discussions and reflections. Furthermore, we will discuss how development-led archaeology can further develop its privileged position as a concrete link between past, present and future.

The lecture is part of the Saxo Archaeology Research Seminar Series, Autumn 2022.

Other lectures in the series are:

• 25/11 - On the Genesis of Hellenistic Grotto Art
• 2/12 - CANCELLED!
• 9/12 - (Re?)Building Textile Archaeology in the Nile Valley
• 16/12 - Lynetteholm marinarkæologisk forundersøgelse