ABSTRACT
Numerous themes criss-cross the various presentations of this volume. They all focus, however, upon the critical consequences of presencing absence in the recent past – bringing forward or indeed materialising that which is excessive, forgotten or concealed. As a result this body of archaeological work begins to appear qualitatively different from more conventional archaeological projects and other disciplines working on the recent past. Communities and individuals are more directly involved and implicated in the creation of vital pasts with the help of archaeologists, as we have seen in many of the contributions to this volume. Moreover, at a more direct and individual level, archaeologists can help mediate the experience of individuals in a manner that can only be described as therapeutic, whether it concerns work on mass graves, World War Two bombers or issues of national heritage. In such contexts, the archaeological act and its particularly well-suited methodologies permit the (re-)constitution of individual experience and thereby provide a much needed social relevance to groups and individuals who would not otherwise have the possibility to engage recent pasts and experiences.
