|
The Modern Antiquarian Forum » More tourists please |
Log In to post a reply
|
|
|
|
| Topic View: Flat | Threaded | |
head-first 214 posts |
Aug 01, 2001, 13:39
|
||
|
The recent thread on the British musuem raised a pertinent point about the increasing interest shown in ancient sites. I've been making a regular pilgramige to the Avebury landscape for a few years, and the volume of visitors has certainly mushroomed recently. The main site is regularly bussling with tourists, seekers, parents, lovers, and assorted lovable headcases. Walk down the main street of this old English village in summertime and be accompanied by a whole orchestra of languages. Thank God. Americans? Bring them all over, including Bush. They're welcome. National boundaries are worth less than the maps they are drawn on; this is about sharing our common humanity, our common origins. Americans, Chinese, French, German, egyptian. Sun reader, city banker, Mcdonalds deputy supervisor, nurse, teacher, Thatcher. Visit these sites and love them. They are beyond language, beyond class, beyond the ego that wants to keep the solitude of these places to myself. There are beautiful areas of land around Oxfordshire which I Can't visit without tresspassing. The exlusivity of Aristocracy. Land as a possession. Lets not go down the same road, these sites should be free to everyone. That is why the addmission charges at Stonehenge are so silly. It's understandable that other heritage sites, such as stately homes and castles, require an entrance fee, since the cost of maintaining those sites is considerable. The cost of upholstering and French polishing at Stonehenge, however, must be fairly minimal. I'm off to Avebury. If I meet George Bush I'll welcome him with open arms, and direct him to the wonderful view from Silbury hill. Is the hole still there?
|
|||
|
gorseddphungus 185 posts |
Aug 01, 2001, 18:25
|
||
|
This has been a very interesting debate but the question remains. I agree that those folks you mention need education (and ALL folks!) but I fear that this implies the quick destruction of some of the monuments. Yes, we are all nice people but the more BIG publicity on the 'sites we get our vibes from' and sooner or later, another nutter will come up as happened recently with lanyon quoit and men an tol, presumably burned by some arseholes who thought in the lines of the bigots of the middle ages. But also the wear and tear can quickly get to the monument - one must remember that, although they have lasted for millenia, they were not designed for being trampled by frantic crowds of tourists taking photos of their dear ones. I have seen many cases of children jumping on graves and playing around as if in a playground while their parents idly smoked a ciggy and took silly pictures. Surely there's a place for everything and ancient prehistoric sites deserve a bit of respect (for being ancient repositories of our heritage first, and second, for being what they were really created for - resting places for the dead) I am against the elitist attitude propagated by institutions like NT or EH, but I also cannot see the major monuments lasting more than another 50 years (or less) if things get worse and that would be a very selfish attitude. 'Let's enjoy them while they last!' More casual tourists will undoubtedly make the big shots in EH consider charging tourists as well as building another monstrosity like the entrance at stonehenge. Avebury entrance fees anyone? But there is also no doubt that the balance must be kept so that stone site lovers do not cause more damage than they think as well as make the right people aware that there are sites round the corner of your house (even in Dubya's hometown) that need protected, instead of making a long trip to a prehistoric complex that offers you coke and chips after a walk round a bunch of stones that 'supposedly give good vibes'... or so they say Texas has a hell of a lot of ancient sites but, as many Texans travel here to check Stonehenge, they are missing on their own rich and amazing heritage, and sometimes letting it disappear before their very eyes.
|
|||
fitzcoraldo 2709 posts |
Aug 01, 2001, 22:12
|
||
|
The tourist industry could be a double edged sword. Yes hoards of tourists could lead to the destruction of sites, if not properly managed, the other side of the coin is, if more folk recognise that we have these monuments the better chance we have of saving them from the jcbs and shovels of developers and greedheads. Remote sites will probably always be remote and popular sites will always be popular. We can find a middle ground and have access and preservation. I hear Blackpool is to become the new Las Vegas with huge casino/hotel complexes and Engleburt gigs. Damn shame,fine town.
|
|||
|
head-first 214 posts |
Aug 02, 2001, 15:40
|
||
|
You're quite right, gorseddphungus. Like fitz says, The tourism industry is potentially a double-edged sword. It seems to be a sad fact that popularity endangers the very things that are most precious to us, those things which should be shared with everyone by virtue of their wonder and importance. This is the point at which the tourism industry, and the tourists themselves, must recognise that their actions are not value-free, but part of a delicate balance of responsibility and privilege, of conservation and active appreciation. Of course the danger of vandalism is constant, but I believe in giving people the benifit of the doubt for the sake of open and equal access. A couple of stones were vandalised at Avebury last year, and while this is deplorable, we have to decide whether it is any worse than Stonehenge-style restrictions which are an act of vandalism in themselves. What makes both of these types of abuse worse, and further complicates the tourism question, is that these sites are sacred. They are, to many, what cathedrals and mosques are to those of other religions, and to those people the mistreatment of the stones is not only sad, but an act of sacrilage. Yet the major sites, such as Avebury, are always going to attract more visitors. This is to be expected, and I don't believe that it's wrong. A Christian may be surrounded by churches in his or her own town, but still make pilgramages to Rome, Iona, or even Jerulsalem. These sites are special, and often provide a level of inspiration and devotion which cannot be found in other places. They are unique sights which renew and refresh their faith and spirit. In exchange for some respect, I would hope that even the most casual tourist would leave the stones having experienced some of this effect.
|
|||
morfe 2992 posts |
Aug 02, 2001, 16:32
|
||
|
The problem/sad thing I see is the lack of people being moved to create 'new' sacred spaces. We are running the risk of allowing the past to become 'dead'. current concepts of linear progess dictate on timelines, and the old stones placed by humans teach otherwise. I believe we would do well to enjoy discovering inner-space and outer-space (nature) without this constant fiscal consideration and bottle-necking to ogle/feel sometimes second-hand vibes. Yes the stones can teach us much, yet we all are new teachers? Fight the juggernaut, be not a tourist but a part of this land? Questions, questions.
|
|||
Squid Tempest 8769 posts |
Aug 02, 2001, 16:38
|
||
|
In a way this misses the point I was trying to make about the British Museum. I wasn't saying "encourage lots of tourists to visit the sites" (although I am not against that in essence), but was saying that the BM should do more to cover British prehistory, and thus educate more of the public as to our heritage. I think if more people had a deeper understanding of the sites, there would probably be less vandalism and misuse, as people would have more respect for these places.
|
|||
|
Telepathine 371 posts |
Aug 02, 2001, 17:04
|
||
|
But it's only really the 'well known' places that suffer from the tourists being bussed in. The ones 5 miles off the beaten track are hardley ever visited, and in many ways, these are the special ones, as you get that feeling of solitude and 'out there' ness (as well as getting fit walking miles to find em'). Though sadly, these are generally the places that become neglected and overgrown, and prone to vandalism, be it by 'the local's' or by the farmers who's land they happen to be on.
|
|||
|
Telepathine 371 posts |
Aug 02, 2001, 17:22
|
||
|
I agree in essence to what you are saying, but, how relevant to todays 'detatched from nature', cultural state is prehistory. That our own cultural heritage is overlooked time and time again is indeed sad. But to the average 'Joe', if it hasn't got a Nike tick attatched, then it doesn't mean much. Hey maybe Nike et al could sponser an exhibition on British Prehistory, and make it 'cool' (though i don't fancy the idea much myself!). The real heads will always find out for themselves anyway. How much prehistory did you learn at school? Me, nothing. I got into it cos' of visiting sites on holiday as a kid, and programmes like 'Chronicle' in the 70's. And as somebody pointed out, the local museums have a multitude of prehistoric displays, made a little more relevant by being close to the sites from which the booty was plundered. And I'm not sure i'm in favour of London nicking the best of our artifacts, as they seem to do with most everything else, then leaving them behind the scenes to gather dust and rot, never to be seen again.
|
|||
a23 1004 posts |
Aug 02, 2001, 20:36
|
||
|
Bussed in tourists is so unappealing - spending last week at Callanish and watching the coaches pull in at the main site for the obligatory wander amongst the stones, half the punters seemed to be gabbing on mobile phones while they were there (and you can bet it wasn't about how far out the stones were, oh no...) then it's onto the next scenic spot (Carloway broch, blackhouses etc...)some of the tour guides spiels are well off beam too. Then you get the fucking "new age" sorts who publicly do all sorts of stupid weird nonsense by the stones in the midst of the crowds. I've nothing against doing your own thing, but I reckon to do it in the middle of the afternoon when the place is crawling is fairly pointless...if you go after sunset there's nobody around and you can groove to your heart's content...also some bastard has painted little patches of coloured nail varnish on 4 of the central stones - that kind of tourist everyone can do without...rant over...
|
|||
|
a23 1004 posts |
Aug 03, 2001, 19:17
|
||
Why, thank you, av0
|
| Pages: 2 – [ 1 2 | Next ] | Add a reply to this topic |
|
|
|
| The Modern Antiquarian Forum Index | |
