Assaad Seif
Archaeologist, Ministry of Culture / Directorate General of Antiquities, Lebanon

Conceiving the past, fluctuations in a multi-value system

This paper discusses the contextual nature of the value systems we tend to work by while interacting with our past and our heritage. It focuses on the Lebanese context and try to develop a model related to the conception and perception of heritage by the Lebanese; beginning from pre-mandate period.
It also discusses the results of all the above-mentioned dynamics in the interaction between developers and the Directorate General of Antiquities (DGA) in pre-war and post-war situations.
Case studies will be presented from Beirut and Tyre. A diachronic comparative approach clearly presents the evolution of the attitude of developers and decision makers towards the buried archaeological heritage.
In addition, the advantages and inconveniencies inherent within the actual “law of Antiquities” will be tackled throughout an analytical approach. Also, the recent solutions adopted by the DGA will be exposed and discussed.
In essence, “Conflict” is considered as a tangible result of a differential conception of the past and consequently heritage. It emerges when different stakeholders have different conceptions of space, heritage, etc.; knowing that each stakeholder or player has his own value system based on which he interacts with the past.

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