Acknowledgements
This Special Issue of Mortality derives from a session I co-organised with Samuel Walls entitled ‘The Archaeology of Contemporary Commemoration’, held at the 30th Theoretical Archaeology Group conference which took place at the University of Southampton, 15–17 December 2008. I am indebted to Sam for his support in the early stages of this project. I extend my sincere thanks to all the contributors, Ing-Marie, Anna, Karl, Cara, Tim and Sam, for their contributions but also for their dedication, enthusiasm and dialogue over critical issues. Further thanks go to the Mortality editorial team and the many anonymous referees who provided such considered and insightful comments on each submitted paper. Special thanks are due to Cornelius Holtorf, Duncan Sayer, Estella Weiss-Krejci, Anna Wessman and Kate Woodthorpe for their support, suggestions and guidance. Finally, I dedicate my work on this special themed edition to my wife Elizabeth and my daughters Jemimah and Adah. Without the time, inspiration and humour they have constantly provided, this volume would never have seen the light of day.