On Public Archaeology in Poland: An Interview with Roksana Chowaniec

Abstract

Roksana Anna Chowaniec is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw. She is president of the Foundation of Friends of the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, and has also served as expert evaluator of exhibitions at the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw. She leads multidisciplinary archaeological research of the ancient town of Akrai in Sicily (e.g. Chowaniec, 2015a; 2017a; 2018), which began as a series of non-destructive investigations but later developed into a complex research project involving excavations, landscape and environmental studies, digital information systems, and archaeometric research on various types of material culture. This research is focused on the role of Hellenistic towns within the Roman province of Sicily, landscape studies, and the reconstruction of daily life and human impact on the environment. Popularization of archaeology has a long lineage in Poland; however, it has been rather a one-way communication (from the discipline to the general public). However, increasing interest in the development of public archaeology (as an environment of mutual communication and public engagement) can be seen in the increasing number of published books, papers, and conferences dealing with this topic, as well as projects and events engaging local communities (for example, Chowaniec & Więckowski, 2012; Gancarski, 2012; Kajda & Kobiałka, 2018; Pawleta, 2010; 2018; Pisĺewska, 2015; Szlendak, et al., 2012; Zapłata, 2011). Roksana Chowaniec has participated in all of these endeavours. She has worked with archaeological heritage protection, education strategies, and engaged in the popularization of archaeological heritage, publishing several books and many papers within these domains (Chowaniec, 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2015b; 2016; 2017b; Chowaniec & Wie ̨ckowski, 2012). She has participated in organizing open days, archaeological festivals, and other popularization events for the general public. However, she feels that public engagement is still underestimated by professional archaeologists and therefore also focuses her teaching activities on the role of archaeologists in public archaeology and on community engagement in archaeological heritage. Between 2015 and 2017, she was the Polish coordinator of the European project ‘Innovating Training Aims and Procedures for Public Archaeology’ (INNOVARCH) in the framework of the Erasmus public archaeology, Vol. 17 No. 4, November 2018, 207–213