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AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON CURTAIN
Schofield 2010:207). I would say that this is important in any level of survey,
detailed or more overarching.
My walkover survey was carried out in two ways. During a systematic
study of sections of the former militarised border, all remains relating to the
border or border infrastructure were recorded on a map and notes were
taken, and targeted surveys were carried out in particular places. The second
type of walkover survey was more spontaneous in character. These
surveys consisted of visits to sites, areas or buildings that had been raised as
possible areas of interest, either through other kinds of research such as
maps, documents, literature, or looking at satellite photos. They were also
often based on tips that were given by people that I met during the time I
spent in an area and where therefore often spontaneous and not researched
beforehand.
This way of looking at an area or a material, has been called “bimbling”,
a concept first described by Anderson (2004), and which has been used by
archaeologist John Schofield and Emily Morrissey during their research of
Strait Street in Valetta, Malta. They describe the difficulty of approaching a
material which is often only available during short moments when shown
by a property owner or when pointed out by people passing by. They found
that “bimbling” described as “interviews conducted in and through a place,
to generate a collage of collaborative knowledge and give people the opportunity
to re-experience their connections with landscape and to reminisce,
prompting ‘other life-course memories associated with that individual’s
relationship with place’” (Harrison and Schofield 2010:76) was the best way
to approach the material. They write: “So we bimbled – walking up and
down Strait Street, talking with those we met, making notes and using the
digital video camera where it felt appropriate. We were told what bars were
where, and we began to gain an impression of what many of these places
were like” (Schofield and Morrissey 2007:93). In a similar way I used this
more walkabout and flexible style of surveying to gain an understanding of
the places along the former Iron Curtain and to be able to follow the connections
which they provided.
Interviews were also important for my understanding of the material.
Sometimes these were combined with the walkover surveys such as my walk
with Maria and Antonio along the border near Trieste, visits to sites along
the Slovenian-Italian border with Andrej, or the time I spent with the guide
David in the Podyji National Park in the Czech Republic. In fact most of the
people that I interviewed wanted to meet me at, or bring me to, a particular
site that they felt had a connection with the border, the military or the
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