Att följa stigen

– en publikundersökning på Blomsholm

Abstract

The present article discusses the results of a survey of visitors at the Blomsholm grave field in Bohuslän during six days in July, 2004. The study addresses the problem of “the public”, so often spoken about in current archaeological heritage management, but nevertheless fairly unknown. Who are the public and how do they relate to cultural heritage sites when visiting them? The results were both expected and unexpected; in this case the public turned out to consist of northern European tourists acting in a sometimes surprisingly similar way. The explanation might be that the visitors belong to a similar cultural sphere with a pre-understanding corresponding to the presentation of the cultural heritage at the site.