Archaeologists, workers and umarèll

Intimacy relationships between objects and people

Abstract

Drawing from ethnographic data collected in Rome and its surroundings, I describe intimate relationships between the excavation artifacts, the archaeologists, the so-called umarèll, and the workers who collaborate in archaeological survey sites. Through the analysis of the practices and rhetorics of these subjects, I show the different ways of conceiving the relationship between the public and the objects of archaeological interest, the affinity bonds between humans and artifacts, and what view of the «non-archaeologist» show the archaeologist’s stereotypes of the umarèll and the worker. I describe how such essentialized identities foster the distance between specialists and ordinary people, between those who can legitimately become intimate with excavated objects and those who must place themselves at a distance from artifacts and related affinity ties. The exploration of the particular climate of conflict experienced by archaeologists shows how public archaeology needs to understand the «scandal» of other ways of relating to archaeological objects. Moreover, this climate shows how the elaboration of a reflexive and inclusive public archaeology must involve improving the working conditions of all its practitioners.