Walled in: borderlands, frontiers and the future of archaeology

• Published in: Antiquity Vol. 97; no. 394; pp. 1004 - 1016
• Main Authors: Hanscam, Emily, Buchanan, Brian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.08.2023
• Subjects: Archaeologists; Archaeology; Arkeologi; Border security; Border walls; Boundaries; Debate; Design and construction; Forecasts and trends; Hadrian, Emperor of Rome (76-138); Immigration policy; Inequality; Market trend/market analysis; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Oppression; Perceptions; Political aspects; Political power; Roman civilization; Social aspects; Sociopolitical factors; Walls; United Kingdom; England; Mexico; Scotland; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; political action; contemporary archaeology; landscape archaeology; border studies; borderlands; Roman frontiers
• ISSN: 0003-598X; 1745-1744; 1745-1744
• DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2023.14

For archaeology to survive in the present and for critical discourse on the past to thrive, archaeologists must advocate for the discipline's continued relevancy. In this Debate article, the authors illustrate the potential and challenges of such advocacy by examining contemporary perceptions of the Roman period Hadrian's Wall and how it relates to modern border landscapes—namely the US/Mexico border. They argue that archaeologists have not addressed the imagined continuity of socio-political narratives surrounding borderlands, calling for wider recognition of border materiality. The authors contend that the uncritical portrayal of the past, particularly in politically charged spaces such as border zones, can contribute to inequality and oppression in the present.