Are we being multi-vocal? : the case of presenting archaeological heritage in Malta

Abstract

This research exercise was inspired by the plurality which exists in society and the multiple voices that ?surround? any archaeological site. Throughout the 20th century, scholars and heritage managers dealt with these voices in a variety of ways. This parallels the development of archaeological thinking, moving away from so-called traditional archaeology to the New Archaeology of the 1960s, and ultimately the formation of processualism and post-processualism in the 1970s and 1980s. Perhaps the school of thought which engaged most with non-archaeological voices was the post-processualist school. One of its advocates, Ian Hodder, coined the term ?multi-vocality? which involves allowing space for multiple interpretations, even those interpretations which are put forth by non-archaeologists. This approach, applied by Hodder at the site of Çatalhöyük in Turkey, has generated both admiration and negative criticism from professional archaeologists. One of the biggest concerns of many archaeologists is how to correctly define a multi-vocal approach and to what extent is it possible to apply it in practical terms. Given that this debate has been devoted relatively limited study in the Maltese Islands, the research looks at how multiple voices have been approached in presenting archaeological heritage in Malta in the past. This is done by presenting two case-studies, one linked to the site of G?ar Dalam and the other linked to the Muslim cemetery in Rabat. The case-studies were approached using qualitative research techniques, namely interviews and textual analysis of newspaper article and history text-books. Ultimately the research explores the ramifications of applying a multi-vocal approach in presenting archaeological heritage in Malta. Following the development of archaeological sites from simply an educational and touristic resource to agents of social change leads to the identification of three pillars that need to support together the contemporary concept arising from today?s debates, especially multi-vocality. These pillars can be identified to support studies by others, namely Grima (2004) and his interactive model for creation and dissemination of archaeological knowledge, which shows how interpretation and presentation are integral to one another and cannot be separated.