Roșia Montană. When heritage meets social activism, politics and community identity

Abstract

“Archaeology for Whom?†A situation where this question gains
particular importance is the case of rescue archaeology projects,
especially those facing big economic projects. It is the purpose of
this article to propose a reflective attitude towards our practice.
Thus, I will focus on the case of the site of Roșia Montană (Romania).
Here, the contentious topic of a proposed cyanide gold mining
exploitation brought forward a series of relevant questions: what is
heritage, for whom it is meaningful (and in what way), and what is
the relationship between heritage and sustainable development of
a contemporary community.