The 'Contemporary Archaeology' of Mell Square

The term 'Industrial archaeology' often infers a more recent past than that of the wider discipline of archaeology. This paper pushes the boundary still further and attempts to collapse the notion of temporal distance in archaeology by addressing the contemporary-past — an apparent oxymoron that questions the perceived gap between past and present and places interest in those sites and events that are often seen as 'everyday and taken for granted'.In this paper, Mell Square, a late 20th-century shopping precinct, is examined as a case study for the transfer of an interpretive theoretical framework into archaeological practice. The result is an emancipatory project that gives voice to the fine grain detail of individuals and socially constructed meanings in contemporary settings. The outcome is a reflective process which can act as a 'camera obscura' on our own society and identities and also provides an holistic archive of ephemeral material for the interest of future generations.

Archaeology · Precinct · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History