Projects per year
Abstract
A Contemporary Archaeology of London’s Mega Events explores the traces of London’s most significant modern ‘mega events’. Though only open for a few weeks or months, mega events permanently and disruptively reshape their host cities and societies: they demolish and rebuild whole districts, they draw in materials and participants from around the globe and their organisers self-consciously seek to leave a ‘legacy’ that will endure for decades or more. With London as his case study, Jonathan Gardner argues that these spectacles must be seen as long-lived and persistent, rather than simply transient or short-term. Using a novel methodology drawn from the field of contemporary archaeology – the archaeology of the recent past and present-day – a broad range of comparative studies are used to explore the long-term history of each event. These include the contents and building materials of the Great Exhibition’s Crystal Palace and their extraordinary ‘afterlife’ at Sydenham, South London; how the Festival of Britain’s South Bank Exhibition employed displays of ancient history to construct a new post-war British identity; and how London 2012, as the latest of London’s mega events, dealt with competing visions of the past as archaeology, waste and heritage in its efforts to create a positive legacy for future generations.
This book offers significant new directions for the study of mega events in its comparison of how three mega events changed London over three centuries. Drawing on a varied selection of theoretical and methodological frameworks and a rich array of sources, it demonstrates the great potential of contemporary archaeology for re-examining recent processes of urban transformation.
This book offers significant new directions for the study of mega events in its comparison of how three mega events changed London over three centuries. Drawing on a varied selection of theoretical and methodological frameworks and a rich array of sources, it demonstrates the great potential of contemporary archaeology for re-examining recent processes of urban transformation.
Original language | English |
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Place of Publication | London |
Publisher | UCL Press |
Number of pages | 288 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781787358447, 9781787358478 , 9781800082427 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781787358461, 9781787358454 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 May 2022 |
Keywords
- mega events
- heritage
- contemporary archaeology
- London 2012 Olympics
- Great Exhibition London
- South Bank Exhibition
- Crystal Palace
- London
- East London
- Temporality
- archaeology
- Olympic Games
- exhibitions
- mega projects
- urban regeneration
- waste
- urban studies
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'A Contemporary Archaeology of London’s Mega Events: From the Great Exhibition to London 2012'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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London’s mega event heritage and the development of UCL East
Gardner, J., 24 May 2022, Co-curating the City: Universities and urban heritage past and future. Melhuish, C., Benesch, H., Sully, D. & Holmberg, I. M. (eds.). London: UCL Press, p. 154-176Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Open AccessFile -
What makes a wasteland?: ruins, rubble and regeneration
Gardner, J., 9 Jan 2021, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract
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Competing for the past: the London 2012 Olympics, archaeology, and the ‘wasteland’
Gardner, J. & Apaydin, V. (ed.), Feb 2020, Critical Perspectives on Cultural Memory and Heritage: Construction, Transformation and Destruction. Apaydin, V. (ed.). UCL Press, p. 45-66Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Press / Media
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Legacy, what legacy? Five years on the London Olympic park battle still rages
27/07/17
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Activities
- 1 Public Engagement – Work on advisory panels for social community and cultural engagement
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Archaeological Consultant
Jonathan Gardner (Advisor)
2014 → …Activity: Consultancy types › Public Engagement – Work on advisory panels for social community and cultural engagement