A sense of place

Certain archaeological remains stimulate affective and emotional response for those engaging them whether archaeologists, local inhabitants or tourists. This affective reaction is not only related to the outcry and devastation that comes in the wake of deliberate destruction of archaeological sites and objects. It also affects the billions of tourists that visit archaeological sites all over the world and become enmeshed in notions of authenticity, knowledge-sharing, economy and nationalism. Such affective encounters are part of a larger 'experience economy' (Pine and Gilmore 1999; see also Jensen 1999; Schulze 1992) in which architectural form, both ancient and recent, are active components. As John Urry and Jonas Larsen argue (2011; drawing on Klingmann 2007), this has marked a shift where 'it is no longer the formal design of a building that determines its quality, but rather its powers of affecting and engaging users, emotionally, bodily and mentally' (2011: 122). Archaeological sites, particularly those that become tourist attractions, are in this way centrally entangled in the performance of 'tourist gazing', and what is most often a heterogeneous tourism space (Edensor 1998)