ABSTRACT
Hoskins contends that an ‘object is given its significance by its placement within a human story, by the way it becomes part of a narrative of self-preservation’. Throughout history, humans have utilised objects as symbols, as emblems, of their individual and communal stories and identities. Since analysing artefacts is essential to understanding the construction of heritage, it is with this lens that this chapter explores the specific contexts of conflict-related artefacts in Northern Ireland while also briefly touching on the role of objects in heritage construction, particularly in contested or conflicted societies. It first presents a key theoretical context and then three forms of heritage present in Northern Ireland today: institution-driven, development-driven, and community-driven. With this contextual foundation, the chapter then concludes with two case studies of loyalist-curated community-driven projects and how they employ artefacts in their processes of heritage construction.
