‘The Past Is Below Us’: Urban Fantasy, Urban Archaeology, and the Recovery of Suppressed History

Hadas Elber-Aviram

doi:10.5334/pia.426

Abstract

Few literary genres have been as intimately connected with the field of archaeology as the genre of urban fantasy, which correlates with urban archaeology through a shared concern with the material history of the city. The palimpsestic model of the city discovered by urban archaeologists such as Schliemann and Evans has inspired the multilayered cityscapes of many urban fantasy narratives. These narratives cast their protagonists into the symbolic role of archaeologists who descend into the urban underworld to recover the city’s forgotten past. Important work has been done on the representation of archaeology in popular culture, but scholars have yet to comprehensively discuss the thematic links between urban archaeology and urban fantasy. The following paper offers a preliminary exploration of this issue, by focusing on the ways in which urban fantasy negotiates contending histories of the city. The research centres upon two British urban fantasy novels, Neil Gaiman’s <em>Neverwhere</em> (1996) and Tim Lebbon’s <em>Echo City</em> (2010).

Highlights

There is something intrinsically archaeological about urban fantasy, but the exploration of this kinship has as much to do with the need to redefine the genre as it does with the desire to trace its hidden affiliations
This article has suggested that the juxtaposition between urban archaeology and urban fantasy can help redefine the boundaries of the latter genre, by highlighting its core interest in the material history of the city
We can speculate that urban fantasy may have something to offer urban archaeology as well

Summary

Introduction

There is something intrinsically archaeological about urban fantasy, but the exploration of this kinship has as much to do with the need to redefine the genre as it does with the desire to trace its hidden affiliations. This article argues that the yardstick for redefining urban fantasy against the proliferation of related narratives can be found in the genre’s concern with the material history of the metropolis. A work of urban fantasy would be defined by its predominant interest in the concrete, tangible details of the city, and the way in which these details cohere to form a larger narrative of the city’s past.

Results

Conclusion