Exploring Social Media as Engagement in UK Development-led Archaeology

This research considers how social media is used by development-led archaeological organisations in the UK and if its content can be regarded as a form of non-specialist engagement. Despite digital communication increasingly being studied in heritage literature there is a limited body of research addressing development-led archaeology, a sector responsible for most of the work within the UK. The study aims to characterise created content, understand user interactions and responses, examine the challenges facing both practitioners and organisations and determine whether these platforms are delivering engagement within the sector. Quantitative and qualitative analysis is undertaken on Facebook data from archaeological company Pages, including a brief consideration of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, in conjunction with interviews with the staff responsible for running company social media accounts. The research concludes that the contrasting priorities of a marketized archaeological sector and broader disciplinary goals to engage non-specialists have created deeply embedded tensions that routinely marginalise communication initiatives. Suggestions on how these challenges may be approached and, potentially, overcome are also presented and discussed.