Abstract
In Central Asia, archaeology has become a renewed focus of attention in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The infrastructure projects associated with the BRI could have a marked impact on the preservation of archaeological heritage, local understanding and use of cultural heritage. With reference to a case study centred on Kazakhstan, the paper examines the complications posed by the BRI in achieving the balance between economic development and tangible heritage preservation. While analysing weaknesses of the current legal cultural framework, it suggests that the archaeological custodianship, both local and international, should be encouraged.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Historic Environment: Policy and Practice |
| Volume | 13.2 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Funding
Commercial operations and academic research comprise the active sphere of archaeology in Kazakhstan. Excavation/fieldwork licences, renewed on a three-year round, are granted by local executive bodies to individuals with higher education specialist training and a local institutional affiliation. This policy allows for the long-term study of monuments by single teams of individuals. The Ministry of Education and Science (MOES) and Ministry of Culture and Sport (MCS) oversee and provide the major funding for archaeological activities in the country, along with local universities providing additional grant support for employees. MOES focuses on scientific research and MCS on excavation activities with a purpose to study the cultural heritage of Kazakhstan. Both ministries provide financing for their streams of work, with funding allocated on a highly competitive basis. Several international projects also operate in the country in collaboration with local institutions funded by foreign organisations. Although government bodies govern archaeological activities and related research of both academic and commercial archaeology in the country, unsolicited archaeological works and aspects of Kazakhstan’s legal code leave some archaeological sites unprotected. Common occurrences of looting and antiquities trafficking, for example, in Kazakhstan illustrates the challenges of protecting cultural capital in remote areas despite the focus of public policy and legislature, and government efforts such as Ruhani zhangyru.
Keywords
- BRI
- Kazakhstan
- archaeology
- economic infrastructure
- heritage
- law
- silk roads
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Conservation
- Archaeology
- History
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