Page 79 - Hrobat Virloget, Katja, et al., eds. (2015). Stone narratives: heritage, mobility, performance. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 79
Public presentation
of stone monuments
Nigel T. W. Mills
Introduction to heritage interpretation – a personal journey
To tell the story of stone is to tell the multiple stories of planet earth, from the earliest ori-
gins billions of years ago, through the emergence of seas and continents to the appearance
and development of life in all its varied forms. It is also to tell our own story, that of Homo
sapiens, and our increasingly complex and difficult relationship with our planet and the
rocks it is made of.
These are amongst the most fundamental, powerful and emotional stories that we hu-
man beings can tell, full of dramatic potential and opportunities to engage people of all na-
tionalities and from all walks of life. Yet as a basis for storytelling, for public presentation,
the basic raw material can be unpromising for it simply comprises piles of rock. Some rocks
and many fossils, like archaeological objects, are intrinsically beautiful through their col-
our, shape and patterns. Many though are uninspiring. One pile of rocks looks very much
like the next pile of rocks – so once you have seen one, what is the motivation for seeing an-
other? It all depends on how you tell their stories.
Learning how to bring the stories of stone to life in ways which engage and inspire
people, rather than simply exciting them, has been an underlying theme of my professional
life: exploring, understanding and bringing to life the varied relationships between people
and rocks – between people and landscape.
I was trained and undertook research as a landscape archaeologist at Cambridge and
then Sheffield Universities in the UK, studying diachronic relationships between people
and landscapes in prehistoric and early historical times, in southern and central France
and in northern Italy (Mills, 1985; 1986a; 1986b; 1988). The core data I dealt with com-
prised mainly the stone objects left by the people who populated these landscapes, the soils
in which the objects were found and the underlying geology, hydrology and topography.
Out of my academic studies developed an interest in bringing these relationships
to life for non-academic audiences, for local people (the relationship between people and
place) and for visitors – essentially the public presentation of stones!
77
of stone monuments
Nigel T. W. Mills
Introduction to heritage interpretation – a personal journey
To tell the story of stone is to tell the multiple stories of planet earth, from the earliest ori-
gins billions of years ago, through the emergence of seas and continents to the appearance
and development of life in all its varied forms. It is also to tell our own story, that of Homo
sapiens, and our increasingly complex and difficult relationship with our planet and the
rocks it is made of.
These are amongst the most fundamental, powerful and emotional stories that we hu-
man beings can tell, full of dramatic potential and opportunities to engage people of all na-
tionalities and from all walks of life. Yet as a basis for storytelling, for public presentation,
the basic raw material can be unpromising for it simply comprises piles of rock. Some rocks
and many fossils, like archaeological objects, are intrinsically beautiful through their col-
our, shape and patterns. Many though are uninspiring. One pile of rocks looks very much
like the next pile of rocks – so once you have seen one, what is the motivation for seeing an-
other? It all depends on how you tell their stories.
Learning how to bring the stories of stone to life in ways which engage and inspire
people, rather than simply exciting them, has been an underlying theme of my professional
life: exploring, understanding and bringing to life the varied relationships between people
and rocks – between people and landscape.
I was trained and undertook research as a landscape archaeologist at Cambridge and
then Sheffield Universities in the UK, studying diachronic relationships between people
and landscapes in prehistoric and early historical times, in southern and central France
and in northern Italy (Mills, 1985; 1986a; 1986b; 1988). The core data I dealt with com-
prised mainly the stone objects left by the people who populated these landscapes, the soils
in which the objects were found and the underlying geology, hydrology and topography.
Out of my academic studies developed an interest in bringing these relationships
to life for non-academic audiences, for local people (the relationship between people and
place) and for visitors – essentially the public presentation of stones!
77
