Archaeology of Contemporary Migrations in Lampedusa Tracks in Motion

Archaeology of Contemporary Migrations in Lampedusa is a revised and updated English edition of the Italian volume Tracce in movimento. It explores how an archaeology of the present can reveal less visible narratives of migration across the Mediterranean through the material traces left on Lampedusa. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the book examines boats, objects washed ashore, cemetery spaces, murals, memorials and other forms of material evidence connected to contemporary migration. It shows how detailed archaeological research can transform ordinary objects into evidence and territories into testimonies. These traces record journeys, rescue operations, border regimes, acts of care, forms of neglect and practices of remembrance. The analysis moves between beaches, harbours, storage areas, urban walls and burial places, following the changing meanings of materials that are removed, reused, abandoned, transformed or preserved. In doing so, it challenges simplified media narratives and demonstrates how archaeological methods can make visible relationships between landscapes, communities, institutions and the silenced memories of migrant people. This book is intended for archaeologists, anthropologists, migration researchers and social scientists interested in contemporary archaeology and critical heritage studies, offering methodological and political tools for reading the present through its material remains.