Turbo Island, Bristol: excavating a contemporary homeless place

Abstract

This paper provides an assessment of the excavation of an apparently ordinary space in Bristol (UK) in 2009. Although the space appears unremarkable to most passers-by, it is unusual in being a place used routinely by many of the city's street-drinking and homeless community. Homeless people were 'colleagues', involved in excavation, finds processing and interpretation. The collaborative nature of this project goes further than merely attempting to represent social groups who have traditionally been excluded from heritage practice and interpretation - it lays methodological foundations for praxis. © Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology 2014.