Project Repil 1949 (Galicia, Spain): Guerrilla Public Archaeology

In June 2016, we launched Repil 1949, the first comprehensive archaeological project centred around a battle site of the anti-Franco guerrilla movement in Spain (1936–52). This article presents a critical assessment of this pioneering initiative in Europe, which, for a decade, has combined the archaeology of the recent past with community-based archaeology. We also outline our public archaeology strategy and our modest contribution to the memorialization and heritage preservation of the vestiges of the anti-fascist struggle in our country. Finally, we advocate for a critical and activist archaeology that integrates local communities into the knowledge-building process and addresses the demands of the families of victims of Francoist repression.