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of even thousands of years were conceptualised as coherent historical
entities (e.g. the “Bronze Age” or the “Neolithic”) whose social and
cultural developments could be followed in detail. A sense of historical
continuum was created, which linked the remembered past
with what was until recently a mythical time known only through
oral tradition and the texts of Latin and Greek authors. 8
It is not difficult to understand, then, why archaeological investigation
quickly came under the protection and control of state authorities,
especially in countries where state-formation was completed before
national identities were fully consolidated. 9 Archaeological sites
were assigned the status of “national heritage”, and active research
was entrusted only to public Archaeological Services and accredited
academic institutions. This inevitably moulded research within the
framework of nation-states, and channelled archaeological thought
towards the creation of master narratives, which contextualised excavation
finds in geographical settings largely defined by modern
territorial borders. Those narratives, accompanied by the objects,
which provided the material basis for their formulation, were showcased
in National Archaeological Museums; 10 they were, also, integrated
into school and university curricula in order to ensure transmission
to future generations.
Important theoretical developments during the twentieth century
brought about new insights and approaches to the study of the past,
especially in the 1960s and the 1970s. 11 At the same time, field of archaeology
made impressive technical advances, adopting scientific
methods for the study of bones, seeds, pots and people. This made
the discipline more “objective” and shifted the focus of interest from
palaces and pyramids to economy, demography and broad social
processes. Archaeological discourse, however, rarely managed to
trespass the geographical limitations set by modern nation-states,
not the least because field research retained its strong links with (and
dependence from) state-patronage. Those links continue unchallenged
until today. In fact, archaeology remains one of the few scientific
disciplines whose practice is strictly controlled by state authorities
in most European countries (and beyond) among others through
laws which regulate access to archaeological sites for purposes of
fieldwork and other types of research. Although this is to a large
extent justified by the irreversibility of archaeological work and the
need to protect archaeological resources from overuse in order to be
preserved for future generations, it also poses serious theoretical issues
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