Archaeology in Society and Daily Life
25 Years of Site management in Finland. What Next? LeeNA kOiViSTO Researcher Satakunta Museum Pori, Finland leena.koivisto@pori.fi
Abstract
ment and upkeep of the landscape, informative management (signposts, information boards) and physical accessibility (paths, stairs). Management became possible with the implementation of the Employment Act, which released funds from the state’s employment budget (Koivisto & Tiitinen 1995; Mikkonen-Hirvonen & Tiitinen 2000). The NBA’s management program encompassed nearly 250 ancient remains annually up until 2010 (National Board of Antiquities’ Database for Managed Sites and Monuments). It was then that the NBA began a reorganization which, together with severe budget cuts, led to a dramatic drop in the amount of available resources in 2011–2012. Today the management of ancient remains has decreased by about 60% from what it once was. This is in direct conflict with the claims of the Ministry of Culture and Education concerning the importance of cultural heritage education and the fact that cultural heritage belongs to everybody. We face a major upheaval. Who is responsible for the cultural heritage considered to be one of the basic elements of a good life?
I
n Finland the systematic site management of ancient remains was begun by the National Board of Antiquities in 1988. The management program encompassed nearly 250 ancient remains per year. Budget cutbacks led to dramatic cuts in the amount of available resources in 2011-2012 and today the management of ancient remains has decreased severely. In Satakunta region a questionnaire was conducted to study opinions toward site management work and archaeological sites as places of interest. Based on the results the importance of site management work is discussed - not only for the accessibility and good conditions of the sites but also for understanding the past and respecting archaeological heritage in general. Keywords: site management, archaeological site, questionnaire, accessibility, maintenance, path, information board
Introduction In Finland the systematic management of archaeological sites and historical monuments was initiated by the National Board of Antiquities (NBA) in 1988. Here, site management means the concrete manage21