Archaeologist Raposo Defends Physical Objects in Museums Amid Digital Shift

Portuguese archaeologist Luís Raposo, a leading figure at the International Council of Museums (ICOM), delivered a talk in Santa Coloma on the enduring role of physical objects in museums amid rapid digitalization. The event, titled “Museus: Passat, Present i Futur,” took place in the historic church of Santa Coloma and drew senior Andorran officials.

Culture Minister Mònica Bonell opened the session alongside Rut Casabella, head of the Museums department, and Olga Gelabert, Andorra’s ambassador to Portugal. Bonell described Andorran museums as “living, open spaces committed to research,” noting they are undergoing transformation under the country’s new Museums Plan to engage in global dialogues led by experts like Raposo.

Portugal’s consul general, Duarte Pinto da Rocha, highlighted cultural ties between the two nations, praising the authenticity of heritage preservation and Andorra’s joint UNESCO candidacy with France and Spain.

Raposo traced museums’ evolution from private curiosity cabinets to public institutions born during the French Revolution as “schools of citizenship.” He noted nearly 100,000 museums worldwide, 70,000 in Europe, but warned that not all self-proclaimed museums meet true standards. In Portugal, only 137 of 1,294 qualified under official criteria. Citing ICOM’s 2022 definition, he stressed requirements like research, conservation, and non-profit status.

Success, Raposo argued, lies not in visitor numbers but in learning outcomes. He referenced a London study showing each forgone pound in entry fees generated 3.5 pounds in local economic benefits through tourism and spending. Museums may lack short-term profitability but offer “dignity” as state-protected social investments and indirect development drivers.

Addressing archaeology’s paradoxes, he said the discipline prefers objects remain in situ, while museums inherently decontextualize them—yet originals form the “hard core” of any institution. Raposo criticized “spectacle museology” and virtual museums, calling the latter mere databases. In an AI era prone to fabricated falsehoods, he positioned physical museums as the last bastion of tangible reality, quoting Steve Conn to affirm: museums still need objects.

The evening underscored humanity’s analogue nature and the irreplaceable value of material history for self-understanding.