The Disputed Responsibility for the Cultural Heritage: The Kvarnbacken Case

Abstract

This article deals with the conflict about the responsibility for costs in connection with contract archaeology. Today, according to Swedish legislation, whoever wants to disturb, move, or destroy an antiquity must pay for the archaeological excavation. The starting point for the article is an empirical case from the province of Östergötland to which an actor perspective is applied. The case is also placed in a context to do with tendencies towards change and the discussion in recent years concerning the cultural heritage and national memory policy. By showing features of continuity and discontinuity in cultural heritage management the author seeks to reveal and reflect on the dilemmas surrounding the legislation, which dates back to the 1940s and is questioned by many.