An introduction to museum archaeology - Hedley Swain

An Introduction to Museum Archaeology provides a comprehensive survey and synthesis of all aspects of current museum practice in relation to the discipline of archaeology. Drawing heavily on examples it deconstructs the different challenges posed by trying to tell archaeological stories in museum buildings, and on related sites. The final section sums up the state of museum archaeology in the early 21st century and discusses the major issues it is currently confronting. There is also a detailed list of every museum and exhibit mentioned in the book, with a Web address and an exhaustive list of references. An Introduction to Museum Archaeology provides an essential text for anyone studying museums, archaeology or cultural heritage and a reference for those working in these fields. It is full of detailed information, and discusses concepts and provides the context for current debates.

Hedley Swain is Head of Early London History and Collections at the Museum of London and chair of the British Society of Museum Archaeologists. He is an honorary lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, and an instructor at the University of London. Swain has published widely on museum and archaeological matters and is the author of several major surveys of museum archaeology in Britain.

'An Introduction to Museum Archaeology is an accessible account of museum archaeology in England, as seen by one of its most active and visible exponents. … Usefully, each chapter contains a short list of key texts and the museums and exhibitions cited in this book are included in an appendix …' Antiquity