Results

Among the main results of the ACE project was a book entitled Contemporary faces of the past (Współczesne oblicza przeszłości(2011) edited by Arkadiusz Marciniak, Danuta Minta-Tworzowska, and Michał Pawleta. The volume addresses a wide range of issues pertaining to the condition of contemporary Polish and European archaeology along with its cultural and social context. Subsequent chapters have been written from diverse theoretical standpoints by authors working in different sectors of archaeological profession and beyond. The following contemporary faces of the past are discussed: (a) a position and significance of the past/memory in contemporary world; (b) social context of practicing archaeology, its social responsibilities and impact upon everyday life; (c) changes in interpreting the past; (d) protection of cultural and archaeological heritage; (e) presenting the past in archaeological thematic parks, festivals as well as means of popularising knowledge about the past; (f ) significance of electronic media in the process of creating and disseminating knowledge about the past.

Another outcome of the project was a series of articles and book chapters prepared by the researchers involved in the ACE. On the one hand, Michał Pawleta analyses closer the role and meaning of historical re-enactment, archaeological festivals and archaeological open-air museums as a means of promoting archaeology in the contemporary world. On the other hand,  Arkadiusz Marciniak takes a closer look at contemporary Polish archaeology in global context. Finally, one of the results of the research was two papers written by Arkadiusz Klimowicz with Patrycja Klimowicz about a historical view and a contemporary socio-political context of Polish archaeology in Sudan.