Erasing History? Monuments as Archaeological Artefacts

Abstract

Following work on a master’s thesis about relocating monuments, the author reflects on the way that public monuments form an archaeological record of a society, arguing that by thinking of monuments as archaeology rather than history, viewers are encouraged to see the objects as a living record of society, rather than as historical objects about the individuals or events being memorialised. As with any archaeology, recording the artefacts and their contexts is also important, and these concepts are explored with regards to statues and public monuments.