As part of the mobility programme of the project, researcher Dr. Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto visited the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology, University of Glasgow last week. She gave a talk at the war history seminar of the Scottish Centre for War Studies. The title of her presentation was “Responses to Lapland’s Dark Heritage – Public Archaeology of the WWII in Finnish Lapland”. In her talk Koskinen-Koivisto discussed the engagements and responses of local communities and history hobbyists to the concept of dark heritage and the ethical questions and responsibilities related to the difficult and ambivalent heritage of the WWII in Finnish Lapland. In addition to the public talk, Dr. Koskinen-Koivisto spoke also to the MLitt students of battlefield archaeology about doing public archaeology.

The Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at the University of Glasgow was established in April 2006. The Centre is the first facility of its kind and has earned a reputation as an international center of excellence for the study of the archaeology of battlefields and other archaeological manifestations of human conflict. Founding member of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology, Dr. Iain Banks participated in the public excavations in Inari in August.