Global perspectives on British Archaeology: an East Anglian model for positioning our heritage in international context

从北欧最早的居民留下的足迹(在诺福克的北海岸)，到沼泽被掩埋的史前景观(以Flag Fen为例)，从格里姆斯坟墓的新石器时代的打火石矿到萨顿胡的盎格鲁-撒克逊墓丘，东安格利亚拥有一些古代最好的遗迹，不仅对了解英国，而且具有全球意义。然而，对这些经常隐藏的珍宝的欣赏和展示仍然是在当地层面上进行的，国际游客往往会绕过这些宝藏，他们可能会去巨石阵、罗马浴场或维京约克，但他们大多会错过这个国家其他地方提供的遗产。该项目将有助于建立一个可持续的框架，在更大的国际范围内介绍和研究东英吉利遗产，包括通过考古让社区参与国际文化交流。预计东盎格利亚遗产的这一国际定位可以作为展示和管理英国遗产的更广泛战略思考的典范。该项目源于大英博物馆举办的两次成功的以日本史前雕像为主题的展览，以及在东安格利亚大学塞恩斯伯里视觉艺术中心举办的日本和欧洲雕像对比展览(2009-2010年)。这些展览在英国和日本都引起了公众的极大兴趣。在2010年的展览中，格里姆斯·格雷夫斯的一件文物首次在1939年发现它的那个县展出。这位格莱姆斯·格雷夫斯的不同寻常的故事激发了日本和英国之间一系列进一步的学术、青年和公民交流，展示了考古学在振兴当地社区、知识传播和与国际新受众接触方面的强大力量。这一系列的交流为本项目提供了灵感和基础。在地方和国家遗产当局(包括理事会遗产服务机构和机构，如英国遗产)面临越来越多挑战的时候，该项目将通过清楚地展示这些资源的“国际意义”以及在发展国际兴趣方面的潜在好处，帮助社区内部发展能力，以实现其所在地区遗产资源的进一步潜力。这需要重新评估考古设施团体(包括地方协会和遗产彩票基金社区项目)与负责保护考古资源的团体、学者、其他遗产利益攸关方(如旅游局)和发展组织(当地企业伙伴关系)之间的联系。该项目工作的中心元素将是展览和公共研讨会，以及数字媒体，以展示国际遗产方法的潜力。英格兰东部在研究、管理、保护和开发历史环境方面有着堪称楷模的记录，包括开创性的区域考古评估，这为未来研究和管理被认为是脆弱和有限的资源的战略提供了依据。通过将新的“国际”维度引入英格兰东部的遗产保护方法，该项目旨在为这一典范的不断发展的记录做出贡献。利用现有的基础设施(如英国考古节、遗产开放日)，该项目将促进利益攸关方之间的新知识交流，开发与考古互动的新手段，吸引新的社区和受众。它将提供这一领域最佳做法的范例，迄今仅限于轶事。该项目的长期目标是展示这样一种处理东英吉利遗产的“国际”方法如何为英国和海外未来的政策和实践提供参考。

From footprints left by the earliest inhabitants of northern Europe (on Norfolk's north coast) to the buried prehistoric landscapes of the Fens (exemplified by Flag Fen), from the Neolithic flint mines of Grimes Graves to the Anglo-Saxon burial mounds of Sutton Hoo, East Anglia boasts some of the finest remains from the ancient past, of importance not only for understanding Britain, but also of global significance. And yet appreciation and presentation of these all-too-often hidden treasures remains at the local level, and is often bypassed by international visitors who may go to Stonehenge, Roman Bath or Viking York, but will mostly miss out on what the rest of the country has to offer in terms of heritage. This project will help establish a sustainable framework for presentation and research of East Anglia's heritage within a bigger international picture, including engaging communities in international cultural exchange through archaeology. It is envisaged this international positioning of East Anglian heritage can stand as a model for wider strategic thinking on presentation and management of British heritage.This project grows out of two successful exhibitions on the theme of Japanese prehistoric figurines at the British Museum, and a comparative exhibition of Japanese and European figurines at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia (2009-2010). These exhibitions attracted great public interest both in the UK and Japan. During the 2010 exhibition, an artefact from Grimes Graves was exhibited for the first time in the county where it was discovered in 1939. The extraordinary story of this Grimes Graves 'chalk goddess' inspired a series of further academic, youth and civic exchanges between Japan and the UK, demonstrating how powerful archaeology can be in revitalising local communities and for knowledge transfer and public engagement with new audiences internationally. This series of exchanges provides the inspiration and foundation for the current project.At a time of increasing challenges to local and national heritage authorities (including council heritage services and bodies such as English Heritage), this project will help develop capacity within communities to realise further potentials of heritage resources within their locality by clearly demonstrating the 'international significance' of these resources, and the potential benefits in developing international interest. This requires a reassessment of the linkages between archaeology amenity groups (including local societies and Heritage Lottery Fund community projects) with those charged with protecting the archaeological resource, academics, other heritage stakeholders (e.g. tourist boards), and development organisations (Local Enterprise Partnerships). Central elements of the project's work providing exposure to the potentials of international approaches to heritage will be exhibitions and public workshops, and digital media.The east of England has an exemplary record in researching, managing, conserving and developing the historic environment, including pioneering regional archaeological assessments, which informed future strategies for researching and managing what is recognised as a vulnerable and finite resource. In bringing a new 'international' dimension to approaches to heritage in the east of England this project aims to contribute to this exemplary evolving record. Using existing infrastructure (e.g. Festival of British Archaeology, Heritage Open Days), the project will foster new knowledge exchange between stakeholders, develop new means of interactive public engagement with archaeology, engaging new communities and audiences. It will provide access to examples of best practice in this area, hitherto limited to the anecdotal. The long-term aim of the project is to demonstrate how such an 'international' approach to East Anglia's heritage can inform policy and practice into the future, both in the UK and abroad.