About the Journal

Hundreds of archaeological sites have been researched on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia in late 20 and early 21 century. Some of them were called “capital” research, others planned, long-term and systematic excavations, still others have the status of preventive with a protective regime due to infrastructural and earth work on the ground, part of them were discovered through expert field surveys, however there are still some sites that are targeted by illegal diggers who are trying to find “hidden treasures” that suggests illegal trade.

The number of movable findings amounts to hundreds of thousands, from the huge amount of study material to exclusive examples of state-of-the-art archaeological artifacts from all stages of people’s existence in these areas.

Archaeological documents, mainly, keep pedantic records of data about their discoveries. Media, public outlets and social networks publish details about these discoveries almost daily. This somewhat satisfies the interests of the broader public, however, scientifically-based articles, analyses and debates, monographs and other reference publications require lengthy and vigorous research  so that their numbers cannot objectively correspond with the newly discovered materials.

            Archaeology is not and must not be an ephemeral occurrence. Surveys, excavations, then conservation and presentation of movable and immovable objects are actions which will lose their credibility if they are not verified with adequate expert interpretation before the public. They would undoubtedly transform into anachronistic oral legends and not into part of global humanistic insights.

            These trends and global experiences lead us to believe that this unfavourable situation could be overcome by establishing a publication whose name Arheološki Informator (Archaeological Newsletter) explains its purpose and strengthens this weak link in our professional endeavors.  Preliminary or preceding reports on the treated sites, well-founded elaborations about exclusive finds, reviews on new and provocative reference publications and other information from the field of archaeology formatted in short, but substantial reports might be the proper introduction for further in-depth work on particular archaeological issues. Namely, due to various reasons and unforeseen circumstances, these texts often remain the only competent notifications about work that was carried out.

            We believe that this would encourage many young researchers to present, first-hand, the results of their activities, while those with more experience to summarize their observations on a particular issue or thesis that has matured in their minds over time. 

Hoping that this initiative would be beneficial for all, we want the Archaeological Newsletter to have a long life, be successful and well received in the global quest for progression of archaeological notions.

    10.01.2017

The editorial board