Archaeological Heritage for All: A Heritage Site Accessibility Tool (HSAT) for Open-Air Archaeological Sites

Accessibility to archaeological sites has become a growing concern among heritage managers, being one of the crucial aspects of cultural tourism in the contemporary world. I compiled a set of criteria creating a Heritage Site Accessibility Tool (HSAT), to assess accessibility for archaeological sites illustrating the possibilities of inclusion, with special regard towards people with disabilities. To demonstrate the validity of HSAT, several sites from the Mediterranean are examined and compared. Eight case studies were selected based on their cultural relevance and representation of different contexts on the islands of Sicily, Minorca, Ibiza, Malta, and Gozo. Results show the main problems found in the multiple dimensions of accessibility, as well as the strengths, and most importantly the possibilities for improvement. L'accessibilite aux sites archeologiques est devenue une preoccupation croissante parmi les responsables du patrimoine, car il s'agit d'un des aspects cruciaux du tourisme culturel dans le monde contemporain. J'ai compile un ensemble de criteres pour la creation d'un Outil d'accessibilite aux sites du patrimoine (HSAT - Heritage Site Accessibility Tool) afin d'evaluer l'accessibilite aux sites archeologiques, en mettant en exergue les possibilites d'inclusion a l'intention particuliere des personnes souffrant de handicap. Pour demontrer la validite du HSAT, plusieurs sites de la mediterranee font l'objet d'un examen et d'une comparaison. Huit etudes de cas ont ete choisies en tenant compte de leur pertinence culturelle et de la representation de contextes differents sur les iles de Sicile, de Minorque, d'Ibiza, de Malte et de Gozo. Les resultats indiquent les problemes les plus importants rencontres dans les dimensions multiples de l'accessibilite ainsi que les atouts, et plus important encore les possibilites d'optimisation. La accesibilidad a los sitios arqueologicos al aire libre se ha convertido en una preocupacion creciente entre los gestores del patrimonio, al ser uno de los aspectos cruciales del turismo cultural en el mundo contemporaneo. Utilizamos indicadores como metodologia para evaluar la accesibilidad a los sitios arqueologicos para ilustrar sus posibilidades de inclusion. Para demostrar la validez de la herramienta, se examinan y comparan varios sitios del Mediterraneo. Se seleccionaron ocho estudios de caso en funcion de su relevancia cultural y representacion de diferentes contextos como son las islas de Sicilia, Menorca, Ibiza, Malta y Gozo. Los resultados muestran los principales obstaculos encontrados en las multiples dimensiones de la accesibilidad, pero tambien sus puntos fuertes y, sobre todo, las posibilidades de mejora.

Automated summary

The accessibility of archaeological sites has become a growing concern, particularly in terms of inclusion for people with disabilities. The Heritage Site Accessibility Tool (HSAT) was used to assess the accessibility of several Mediterranean sites, revealing both problems and opportunities for improvement.