Echoes from the recent past : an archaeological ethnography of historic Cold War radar sites in the UK
This thesis is an archaeological and ethnographic exploration of historic military sites associated with the Cold War. It takes a multi-sited approach to former radar installations in the UK and examines the range of meanings and values that surround them, as well as their mediation, management and curation in the contemporary landscape. This thesis provides a detailed study of a range of related (although not necessarily overlapping) practices, which have accumulated around these places since the 1990s. Much has been written about the ruined-aesthetic of abandoned military sites. Moreover, conservation professionals have undertaken extensive research and granted heritage status to a number of key sites. However, little academic research has been carried out concerning the contemporary social life of former military installations. Furthermore, despite valuable archaeological research concerning the character and form of Cold War historic sites, little attention has been given to the ways in which they are involved in the production of ideas surrounding the Cold War and Cold War heritage in the present; this thesis aims to cover both of these issues. Each of the main chapters in this thesis focuses on a particular
Leech, Steven
Curation ; Militarisation ; Nostalgia ; Memory ; Materiality ; Absence ; Conservation ; Intangible ; Heritage ; Ethnography ; Cold War
Echoes from the recent past : an archaeological ethnography of historic Cold War radar sites in the UK. This thesis is an archaeological and ethnographic exploration of historic military sites associated with the Cold War. It takes a multi-sited approach to former radar installations in the UK and examines the range of meanings and values that surround them, as well as their mediation, management and curation in the contemporary landscape. This thesis provides a detailed study of a range of related (although not necessarily overlapping) practices, which have accumulated around these places since the 1990s. Much has been written about the ruined-aesthetic of abandoned military sites. Moreover, conservation professionals have undertaken extensive research and granted heritage status to a number of key sites. However, little academic research has been carried out concerning the contemporary social life of former military installations. Furthermore, despite valuable archaeological research concerning the character and form of Cold War historic sites, little attention has been given to the ways in which they are involved in the production of ideas surrounding the Cold War and Cold War heritage in the present; this thesis aims to cover both of these issues. Each of the main chapters in this thesis focuses on a particular
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