‘the melody that’s sweetly played in tune’ - the heritage ecologies of the Ardeer Peninsula, North Ayrshire, Scotland

This photo-essay explores the ways in which archaeology and photography work together and intervene in the world, to focus on landscapes that have been overlooked or actively ignored. It considers the site of a dynamite factory that was built by Alfred Nobel on the Ardeer Peninsula, Scotland, which has now been designated as brownfield. The prevailing narrative is of industrial progress followed by ruination; where institutional archives memorialise Alfred Nobel, the technology of dynamite manufacture, and the built environment whilst ignoring the lives of those that worked there. This narrative sits alongside the present landscape being viewed as derelict and in need of redevelopment; ignoring the fauna and flora that thrive there. We take an other-than-human approach and consider how multiple species and processes come together at Ardeer. A vibrant and lively landscape is brought to the fore in terms of an archaeology of factory workers and a heritage site as an ecology.