Historical Reenactments in Spain: A Critical Approach to Public Perceptions of the Iron Age and Roman Past

Historical re-enactments constitute unique opportunities to explore public perceptions of archaeological and historical knowledge, allowing social scientists to critically reflect on the role played by historical narratives in current socio-political debates. This paper considers such re-enactments as ‘contemporary cultural representations’ where the pre-Roman and Roman pasts are performed by participants through material culture and techniques of embodiment. Through the lens of public archaeology and heritage studies, the article addresses three cases where we have conducted ethnographic research: the ‘Festival Astur-romano de Carabanzo’ in Lena (Asturias), the ‘Fiestas de Astures y Romanos’ in Astorga (León), and the ‘Festival Luna Celta’ in Solosancho (Ávila). These case studies reveal the cultural, political and economic issues underpinning the power relations between different stakeholders involved in historical re-enactments. In doing so, the investigation contributes to a growing body of research showing how contemporary issues can be uncritically naturalized through their projection onto the distant past in a form of naïve ‘presentism’. In analysing the active role of material culture in the construction and reproduction of public narratives about the past, it sheds light on contemporary issues comprising gender or class divisions, and the construction of regional and national identities. Moreover, these processes not only promote but also trigger commodification processes utilizing the past, as heritage is growingly enmeshed with tourism and marketing interests at different levels, which partially explains the expansion of historical re-enactments in Spain and beyond.

Memory. Cultural Heritage. Public History. Identity. Cultural Tourism.