The absence that will not go away

Abstract

In this article, I will explore the concepts of absence and presence in the context of the Francoist repression during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and the following dictatorship (1939–1975) ruled by General Francisco Franco. My aim is to explore how this tension between absence and presence has been deliberately used as a repressive means in the construction of a new social order and how this has been materially maintained until the present day. To accomplish this, I will focus on Domanska's concept of non-absence (2006) and Kristeva's concept of abjection (1982). I intend to use observations of the material phenomenon from the field – in the context of mass graves and monuments – to discuss the concepts of absence and presence in the archaeological record and on a broader level. The Spanish case thereby serves as a ground for the emergence of a conceptual frame that serves as a tool for working on the ideas of absence and presence. Absence is undeniably an inherent part of archaeology and indeed, as so, and in the midst of the material turn, the role of absence should be paid as much attention as the presence of things. Even more so in specific archaeological contexts where certain presences are dominating the landscape deliberately excluding others.