Roșia Montană. When heritage meets social activism, politics and community identity

Abstract

“Archaeology for Whom?” A situation where this question gains particular importance is the case of rescue archaeology projects, especially those facing big economic projects. It is the purpose of this article to propose a reflective attitude towards our practice. Thus, I will focus on the case of the site of Roșia Montană (Romania). Here, the contentious topic of a proposed cyanide gold mining exploitation brought forward a series of relevant questions: what is heritage, for whom it is meaningful (and in what way), and what is the relationship between heritage and sustainable development of a contemporary community.

Keywords

• Rescue archaeology
• Heritage
• Landscape
• Roșia Montană
• Mine