Archaeological Ceramics, from Scientific Research to Interpretation and Mediation; Towards the Foundation of Scientific and Cultural Project

The scientific research carried out on archaeological ceramics provides a deeper understanding of ancient civilisations. The results can be used to trace human activities, skills and the evolution of landscapes… However, most people are disconnected from the scientific journals or newspapers where this information is presented. At this level comes the importance of interpretation and mediation both as indispensable elements of heritage conservation efforts and essential tools for public understanding of heritage. The purpose of this research is to study the project to create a scientific and cultural interpretation centre. This new concept of mediation, very rare in the Maghreb countries, appeared in America at the beginning of the XX century. It is introduced in Tunisia at the beginning of XXI with the interpretation centre of the Qasba (Tunis) which was created in 2019. The objective is to communicate to the public scientific research on archaeological ceramics and its results. The essential objective of the center is to make known the archaeological ceramics of the Tunisian Sahel as part of our heritage, by identifying their typological and petrographic specificities, which requires the complementary work of the ceramologist, the archaeologist and especially the museographer. In order to present this idea, methods should be used that stimulate the imagination of the public to convey the message without having exhibited heritage objects and cultural goods as in museums.