Pinning Down the Past: Archaeology, Heritage, and Education Today (Heritage Matters) Reprint Edition by Mike Corbishley (Boydell Press)

Comprehensive and good value for money, this volume maps the extent of the relationship between archaeology, heritage, and education; an undertaking that has, to this reviewer's knowledge, never been done before. HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT The strength of Corbishley's book is the detailed use of case studies for each chapter. AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOLOGY Fascinating and enlivening (...) for its studied and humanistic engagement in how civil society can be furthered and horizons widened through the use of archaeology. (A) gem of a book. RESCUE NEWS Shows how participation in archaeology and heritage can be effectively developed. CONTEXTStimulates us to compare and contrast, to think critically and explicitly about the various intentions and outcomes of museum or site interpretations, efforts at explaining excavations, or how we deal with hard-to-motivate audiences. There is much to plunder here, and in the sources signposted through the bibliography. 

In a relatively short period of time the study of archaeology has evolved from an antiquarian interest to a specialised scientific activity. As each new method and technique is developed, and each new specialism is created, the challenge of making archaeology available as a learning resource grows with it. This book, the first to deal with the subject in such depth, examines the place of education and outreach within the wider archaeological community. Written by one of the UK's leading experts in the field, it charts the difficult development of 'education and archaeology'. With numerous informative case studies, from public access to the Roman circus at Colchester to education projects in Athens at Hadrian's Wall, among others, the book examines how the teaching of archaeology has reached the point at which it is today, summarises where that is in the author's view, and suggests areas for further enquiry. By drawing upon many decades of experience at the front line of archaeological education, the author has produced a key text that will play a major role in the continuing development of the heritage industry.. MIKE CORBISHLEY lectures in heritage education at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.