prehistoric archaeology, prehistoric landscapes, historic environment,
heritage, wellbeing, existential relatedness, communitas
As material reflections of human identity and behaviour, heritage assets are
often viewed as a source of belonging and existential awareness. In recent
years, these impacts have been shown to promote personal wellbeing in
ways which align with the therapeutic concept of existential relatedness.
Defined as a feeling of deep connection to something greater than the self,
existential relatedness has been identified as a fundamental component of
personal wellbeing. In light of findings from qualitative work undertaken in
the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site (WHS) and the Vale of
Pewsey, Wiltshire, UK, and their environs, this paper considers the capacity
for these prehistoric landscapes to facilitate a sense of existential relatedness
for people in the present. As a result of this exploration, it suggests that, in
certain contexts, the historic environment has a unique role to play in the creation
of existential wellbeing through the cultural, collective and transcendent
connections that it affords. The paper further theorizes that the feeling of connectivity
which many people experience in response to heritage assets is
essentially a form of communitas, and perhaps one of the greatest social
benefits that the historic environment has to offer.