In order to bring society closer to its historical legacy and its heritage, and with the aim of raising awareness of its value and importance, it is necessary to create activities that establish links and enhance the active participation of society. In this activity, into a dynamic and participatory process, children approach in an archaeological excavation the work of the profession of archaeologist in a large-scale recreation of an archaeological site as faithfully as possible of a real excavation space.

The archaeological heritage has great pedagogical potential. It allows us to expand the knowledge and understanding the historical periods that have shaped the evolution of a society. Also promote respect for historical and cultural heritage. Museu al Carrer is an initiative of the Ceramic Museum of Paterna (Valencia, Spain) that year after year seeks to give visibility to the cultural and artistic heritage of the city in an educational way, through activities designed for children and teenagers during an entire day outside the museum, on the streets. Inside this initiative, and whithin the framework of the European Heritage Days, in the program of Museu al Carrer 2019 from ARAE Patrimonio y Restauración, we carried out an experimental archaeological excavation of 25m2 where almost all phases of the excavation were worked, from the discovery of buried archaeological materials to the analysis and documentation of them. In a dynamic and participatory way, the children approached a recreation as faithful as possible of an open-air real excavation, learning about the real work of the profession of archaeologist in the amazing reconstruction of an old local medieval pottery. The activity involved an interdisciplinary team of stakeholders. Museum workers, archaeologist, architects, didactic experts… and it helped children to realize about the real work in an excavation, demystifying it of what they see on TV, but realizing how crucial is archeology to help us to understand and value our historical legacy and our heritage.

This activity has the potential to become an example which can be adopted by other communities with archeological remains all around Europe, that is, all Europe. The objectives of this project are common and could be extrapolated to other European projects. For example, we promote democratic, inclusive and participatory approach to the of cultural heritage, focused on respect for historical and cultural heritage which strengths identity. The activity is also open towards all social actors, including minority groups, young people and children. ARAE aims to lead the positive changes in the archeology sector by promoting democratic, participatory and approaching to the ciziten the preservation of cultural heritage.