Politics and the Development of Community Archaeology in the UK

In the UK, changes in central government agendas and policies can be seen to have influenced the practice of community archaeology. This paper examines the politics which have affected the development of community archaeology in the UK over the last two decades and aims to promote understanding of the character and extent of its impact. It will, through an analysis of period-specific case studies, provide evidence of this development and suggest what the next stage of progression should be for this form of archaeological outreach. These case studies chart the movement from the amateur-led, informal, 'community archaeology' of the 1980s and early 1990s, to the institutionally organized and professional 'community archaeology' of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, considering today's current hybridity of archaeological outreach. The paper draws on global examples to suggest the future of community archaeology projects in the UK.