Fertilising heritage

This study reveals how the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, recognized by UNESCO, simplifies and deprioritizes the dual legacy of its primary product—synthetic fertilizer for agriculture and explosives for the weapons industry. Through anthropological fieldwork, it demonstrates that heritage objects function as dynamic symbols within broader semiotic systems, yet conservation efforts often reduce their multivocality, reflecting power dynamics and memory politics in World Heritage contexts. The research employs a semiotic perspective to analyze these tensions, highlighting the absence of the original industrial product's dual application in current heritage narratives.

Johannessen, S. F. (2025). Fertilising heritage. Multivocality in World Heritage, 23–36. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003496786-2