RUAHA CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

Public engagement in the practice of archaeological projects and heritage studies has received a remarkable emphasis among archaelogists and heritage professionals world-over, in the name of ‗public archaeology‘. This paper, however, discusses an encounter revealing a resistance on the part of local communities to collaborate with professionals in Tanzania at the Mvita ancient settlement site in the Mtwara region of South-eastern Tanzania. The confrontations that took place at the site and education initiatives that were taken by the research team to educate the local community on the importance of cultural heritage and what exactly was taking place at the site, are at the crux of discussion of this paper. Moreover, the paper explores local communities‘ understanding of cultural heritage resources and what should be done to enhance collabarative conservation endevors for sustainable heritage management. The results of this study reveal that little effort has been made by archaeologists and cultural heritage professionals to create awareness among local communities on matters related to archaeology and cultural heritage resources. The paper also discusses the importance of communicating cultural heritage resources to the general public and the need to engage local communities in the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage resources.

Public Archaeology, Heritage, Cultural Heritage, Archaeology, Local Community, Conservation