Archaeology in everyday life: forms of interaction between the extraordinary and the ordinary in archaeological landscapes

Abstract

This paper reflects on architectural design in the context of the enhancement and enjoyment of archaeological landscapes, emphasising the need to adopt a cross-disciplinary perspective on the subject – one that remains unclear and largely unexplored in contemporary debate, particularly from an operational standpoint – partly due to a series of complexities arising from the fragmented disciplinary approach to the relationship between architecture and archaeology, the interaction between ancient and contemporary settlements, and the need to protect heritage while allowing it to coexist with the landscapes of everyday life. The question concerns how architecture can operate between these polarities, with the potential to bring about transformations aimed at achieving new balances and within a vision of the territory as a common good, where heritage and production play an active role. In particular, the case of the Nuragic landscapes in Sardinia is extremely interesting in this regard, and the ongoing UNESCO nomination process is faced with an emblematic example of the coexistence between the need for measures to safeguard an archaeological heritage, the existence of inadequate planning, and the productive activities that inhabit and shape its surroundings. The research therefore explores forms of interdependence between archaeology and everyday life, proposing a design approach in which the value of heritage emerges not from the isolation of the site, but from its integration with processes of reuse and with the material and cultural resources already present in the area. The reasoning focuses on working with what is already there and moving away from the idea of exceptional intervention in favour of measured, adaptive transformations that are deeply rooted in the place.