In this issue of Public Archaeology, we present two papers of particular relevance to current practice in archaeological legislation in the UK. In the first paper Adam Daubney discusses the issues relating to unstratified grave finds in England and Wales, questioning the appropriateness of current reporting guidelines and presenting a thorough discussion of the legal issues surrounding grave goods that are derived from their geo-political context. Much of the current discussion in this area is being influenced by the development of processes in relation to indigenous grave goods, and Daubney raises a crucial point about the heritage identity link between contemporary groups in society and the protection that is afforded to associated burials.
In the second paper, Francesca Benetti and Gian Pietro Brogiolo present a comparative analysis of the legislative arrangements governing archaeology in England and Italy, and the implications this has for methods surrounding public involvement and engagement in archaeology in these respective countries. The authors trace the lineage of archaeological legislation in each territory and explain the relative nuances in relation to wider sociological arrangements. This is particularly illuminating given the context of the relatively recent emergence of the Italian concept of archaeologia publicca, and the formalization of this as a specific area of academic study (Bonacchi, Citation2013; Nucciotti, et al., Citation2020) and increases the prospect of further comparative and collaborative work. Such comparative frameworks and historiographies of public archaeology are crucial for understanding how the diversity of public archaeologies we see today have emerged and continue to be formed and re-formed.
We also present the next instalment in our profile series, with a review of a collaborative project between the Museum of Copenhagen and University College Copenhagen, Denmark. Collaborators from these institutions developed an archaeological workshop for kindergarten students to introduce young children to archaeology, both as a discipline and a practice. The project they describe is one that proved inspiring for the children who participated but also introduced innovative pedagogical practices that serve to demonstrate the valuable cultural and critical skills that engagement with archaeological collections can bring.