The
concept of archaeological heritage management (AHM) has been key to
wider archaeological research and preservation agendas for some decades.
Many universities and other education providers now offer what is best
termed heritage management education (HME) in various forms. The
emphasis is commonly on archaeological aspects of heritage in a broad
sense and different terms are often interchangeable in practice. In an
innovative working-conference held in Tampere, Finland, we initiated a
debate on what the components of AHM as a course or curriculum should
include. We brought together international specialists and discussed
connected questions around policy, practice, research and
teaching/training, at local, national, transnational and World Heritage
levels. In this article we take the Tampere discussions further,
focusing especially on the meaning, necessity, implications and
prerequisites of interdisciplinary HME. We offer our thoughts on
developing HME that reflects the contemporary aspects and needs of
heritage and its management.