Multiscale Collaborative Approaches to Archaeological Research for Community Engagement:: The Projects SigNet, (in)visible Collections and Afterlife

In this paper three collaborative projects of different scales are presented: such projects aim to engage communities and raise their interest and awareness on archaeological materials coming from the Near East and the Mediterranean. Given the necessity of such an engage ment to develop future strategies of cultural heritage protection and promotion, it emerges from the experience already made and/or still ongoing that the close relation past-present and the agency antique objects still have on contemporaneity appear as key-points for stimulating positive feedback. The conscious use of digital media to develop dissemination strategies is likewise outlined.