Despite mixed signals regarding download rates and subsequent use, digital resources, frequently manifest in the form of an ‘app’, have become one of the most ubiquitous forms of heritage and museum interpretative tools in recent years. Now I’ve never held myself up to be among the most technologically advanced of people, and a phone that opened like an original series Star Trek communicator was wizardry enough for me for almost a decade. Equally, there was once an occasion where I hurled a book at a television in outrage at the perpetual references to ‘apps’ in television advertising. I did not give in to progression without some severe resistance. Yet, here I am today with my smart phone, upon which I can conduct the vast majority of my day to day business, and I love it – my inner luddite is screaming at me in protest I’m sure. As a result, I can now freely explore and take advantage of the growing range of heritage and museums apps, many of which are free to download. However, I’m still not particularly on the ball with things. The Archwilio app for instance is a classic. Launched just over a month ago, I was among those to be espousing the virtues of such a device, and naturally downloaded it on the day of release, and my new app sat proudly on the front page of my mobile phone...and there is stayed, untapped, unexplored, utterly redundant, for the following month. I can’t help wonder if this is the fate shared by many of our heritage downloads – can we effectively measure participation in relation to downloads? A question for another time perhaps. With the teaching year wrapped up, I have now had, at last, an opportunity to press the ‘A’ symbol on my phone, and finally give this app a proper run through its paces, and I was not disappointed. Some context here is perhaps necessary. Archwilio is a collaborative effort between the four archaeological trusts in Wales. The project looks to make available a digital archive of all of the archaeological sites and listed buildings located in Wales. Accessibility is at the heart of this project, and this arguably unique endeavour should be celebrated on principle alone – to make the entire national archive freely available, through mobile phone technologies, is a concept that must be applauded. The application is certainly promising. Again, I am no expert whatsoever when it comes to digital technologies. To the expert eye, this might be an utterly hackneyed effort at a mobile phone app, I simply would not know the difference (though I promise to expand my knowledge base on such resources over the winter period), but I have at the very least found it easy to use and make sense of, and, probably the most important result of all, I have learned about new sites because of it. Walking around Caerleon and Ponthir today, I enjoyed scanning the landscape to confirm the locations of previous excavations and find spots. It is important to note that Archwilio is far from complete. Checking up on some sites, including those I have excavated, I found odd gaps in the archive. Still, it is early days, and the resource is, or should be, continuously updated. The capacity for users to suggest sites for inclusion, additional information, and site images, is equally important, and reinforces the sense that this is not a prescriptive resource, but a participatory one. In terms of my test run, I discovered new sites in Ponthir, a community I walk through daily. Even visually prominent sites, such as the nineteenth century Baptist Chapel, were new to me. Having found the site marked on my Archwilio map, I then immediately swung by to visit the site. This alone must be seen as some sort of success for the app. The frustrated Pokemon collector in me would love to see some manner of check list, to tick off sites visited (after all, you gotta catch em all – excuse flashbacks to my youth), but this is far from essential. I’ll certainly be making generous use of this as I visit familiar and unfamiliar sites alike in the future. The potential of the resource is staggering and I would certainly encourage those with an interest in their surrounding landscape to at least have a look at Archwilio. It might not be the most polished app available, but as an open door to the archaeological landscape of Wales, Archwilio has no rival. Archwilio can be downloaded from google play, with more information available at the homepage.
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Having written about the Mütter Museum last month in relation to their 'adopt a skull' programme, I've since been keeping an eye on the museum for any related developments. The museum is the perfect case study for our new year lecturers on the ethical treatment of human remains, so I'm very interested to see how the adoption scheme is received and develops. That all being said, I am now seeing the Mütter Museum in an entirely different light today, having stumbled across what I imagine (and hope) must be the single most unique museum store gift encountered yet. This is (of course) the Mega Colon! Nothing says Christmas quite like a giant plush colon to sit on the mantelpiece, and with a cute little face, this colon can look right back at you. I can only applaud the Mütter Museum for bringing us yet another brilliant museums case study...I'm yet to figure out entirely how I can build the Mega Colon museum gift into a future lecture, but I feel it simply must be done, one way or another. If you really feel that your life is not complete without a giant plush mega colon close at hand, you can order your very own from here: Merry Christmas! It’s my favourite time of year, and it has nothing to do with the tasteless rash of highly premature fake Christmas trees which seem to be popping up. This week has seen the coming together of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, as they pass judgement on those examples of intangible cultural heritage to be put forward for inclusion on the World Heritage equivalent list, for living cultural heritage. As an unashamed enthusiast for, and promoter of intangible cultural heritage, the December window in which new entries to the list are made, is of increasing significance. This is the one point in the year when international media coverage, briefly, but consistently, talks about intangible heritage. The rest of the year, these significant cultural contributors tend to be overlooked, dismissed or mocked by those same media outlets, but for this week only, newspapers and broadcasters play their part in spreading the message that these cultural traditions are important, vulnerable and well worth safeguarding. While this period is important in terms of raising the profile of intangible heritage globally, on a personal level, new entries to the list make for a wonderful learning opportunity. Being introduced to so many examples of distinctive, frequently unique cultural traditions, in such a short space of time, is an overload of opportunities to learn about global societies. In the past I have lost many an hour listening to the music of the Tsuur, trying to replicate the sounds produced by this distinctive, ethereal performance. Today I had the pleasure of exploring a raft of new (to me) traditions. In many instances, the examples that I’ve been introduced to by the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity are ones that I have some familiarity with. Shrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke is one such example that I had been aware of, but had largely forgotten about. The listing process provides an international platform for such practices to become well known once more, and through greater knowledge and, we might hope, understanding, the potential increases for these traditions to be safeguarded for future generations, rather than simply fall out of practice and become forgotten. On another horse theme, the Karabakh horse-riding tradition in Azerbaijan is one such entry to the list this year, to be in danger of just such a fate. Potentially described as a nomadic precursor to polo, this sport once held a significant role in identity creation among participatory communities, but, as with so many traditions to be placed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, a disconnected youth and changing lifestyles has seen this tradition verge on vanishing. That which becomes included on these lists are as equally fascinating as they are vulnerable, and UNESCO should once again be applauded for their ongoing work in this field. While these inclusions should indeed be celebrated, it is interesting to note that there is currently a campaign gathering momentum regarding the UK’s ratification of the UNESCO convention on intangible cultural heritage. Currently no comparable examples in a British context will ever be included on these lists, due to ongoing reticence, or just simple disregard from British government officials for this form of heritage. Intangible heritage is however alive and, in some instance, doing well in Britain. Formal recognition of British intangible cultural heritage is though long overdue, and if we consider the living traditions of these islands to be of importance, the UK government must be pressured into acting now, before our intangible spectrum finds itself in urgent need of safeguarding, if that is not already the case. Just a quick update to say that my contact details (regarding email) have been updated. My work email address is now [email protected] (the old newport.ac.uk address will no longer work). I can also be contacted via [email protected].
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