{"id":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2983"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwtsd/oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2983","repository":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","name":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","base_url":"https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"The World That Was : An investigation of lost cities, hidden empires, and their role in online pseudoarchaeological communities.","abstract":"In recent years, alongside the rise of innovative social media platforms such as TikTok, fast increasing pseudoarchaeological conspiracies have spread across the western world. The legacy of these conspiracies, their uptake on social media, and their impact on heritage identity has largely been ignored amongst archaeologists and heritage professionals with exceptions being studies of online communities, discussions of how pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past, and most recently the vast number of blogs written both within and without the archaeological establishment discussing various aspects of pseudoarchaeology.1 In this dissertation pseudoarchaeology, pseudoheritage and pseudohistory are all to be investigated through how they are spread on social media as well as the role they play in the identity of both individuals and online communities. While many successful attempts have been made to define pseudoscience, an umbrella term under which pseudoarchaeology can be seen to fall, no one definition has found a consensus among scholars investigating fraudulent archaeology.2 The intention of this dissertation is to address the definition of pseudoarchaeology through the lens of a modern pseudoarchaeological theory, that of Tartaria, which although recent in its creation, draws on historical precedents set by 19th and 20th century pseudoarchaeological theories. Tartaria is seen by its believers to be a globe spanning civilisation unified by a single language and culture including architecture, technology, and originating from Hyperborea3 . It is hoped that by analysing the Tartarian theory this dissertation will provide a framework for future researchers on how best to address the problematic nature of pseudoarchaeology and its viral spread on social media platforms.","abstract_html":"In recent years, alongside the rise of innovative social media platforms such as TikTok, fast increasing pseudoarchaeological conspiracies have spread across the western world. The legacy of these conspiracies, their uptake on social media, and their impact on heritage identity has largely been ignored amongst archaeologists and heritage professionals with exceptions being studies of online communities, discussions of how pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past, and most recently the vast number of blogs written both within and without the archaeological establishment discussing various aspects of pseudoarchaeology.1 In this dissertation pseudoarchaeology, pseudoheritage and pseudohistory are all to be investigated through how they are spread on social media as well as the role they play in the identity of both individuals and online communities. While many successful attempts have been made to define pseudoscience, an umbrella term under which pseudoarchaeology can be seen to fall, no one definition has found a consensus among scholars investigating fraudulent archaeology.2 The intention of this dissertation is to address the definition of pseudoarchaeology through the lens of a modern pseudoarchaeological theory, that of Tartaria, which although recent in its creation, draws on historical precedents set by 19th and 20th century pseudoarchaeological theories. Tartaria is seen by its believers to be a globe spanning civilisation unified by a single language and culture including architecture, technology, and originating from Hyperborea3 . It is hoped that by analysing the Tartarian theory this dissertation will provide a framework for future researchers on how best to address the problematic nature of pseudoarchaeology and its viral spread on social media platforms.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ward, Andrew"],"institution":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","degree_name":"ma","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-12","date_published":"2023-12","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:52:59Z","subjects":["CC Archaeoleg","D Hanes (Cyffredinol)","DS Asia"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"],"render_values":[{"text":"UWTSD","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00002983","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ward, Andrew"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2023-12-07"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023-12"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.commercial","label":"Dc Publisher Commercial","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Traethodau Meistr","Institute of Education and Humanities: Humanities and Social Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2983/"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Gosodiad"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["masters"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["ma"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["CC Archaeoleg","D Hanes (Cyffredinol)","DS Asia"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00002983"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2983/1/Ward%2C%20Andrew%20%282023%29%20MA%20The%20World%20That%20Was%20Thesis.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In recent years, alongside the rise of innovative social media platforms such as TikTok, fast increasing pseudoarchaeological conspiracies have spread across the western world. 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While many successful attempts have been made to define pseudoscience, an umbrella term under which pseudoarchaeology can be seen to fall, no one definition has found a consensus among scholars investigating fraudulent archaeology.2 The intention of this dissertation is to address the definition of pseudoarchaeology through the lens of a modern pseudoarchaeological theory, that of Tartaria, which although recent in its creation, draws on historical precedents set by 19th and 20th century pseudoarchaeological theories. Tartaria is seen by its believers to be a globe spanning civilisation unified by a single language and culture including architecture, technology, and originating from Hyperborea3 . It is hoped that by analysing the Tartarian theory this dissertation will provide a framework for future researchers on how best to address the problematic nature of pseudoarchaeology and its viral spread on social media platforms."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The World That Was : An investigation of lost cities, hidden empires, and their role in online pseudoarchaeological communities."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.sponsor":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:creator":["Ward, Andrew"],"dc:date":["2023-12-07"],"dc:date.issued":["2023-12"],"dc:description.abstract":["In recent years, alongside the rise of innovative social media platforms such as TikTok, fast increasing pseudoarchaeological conspiracies have spread across the western world. 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While many successful attempts have been made to define pseudoscience, an umbrella term under which pseudoarchaeology can be seen to fall, no one definition has found a consensus among scholars investigating fraudulent archaeology.2 The intention of this dissertation is to address the definition of pseudoarchaeology through the lens of a modern pseudoarchaeological theory, that of Tartaria, which although recent in its creation, draws on historical precedents set by 19th and 20th century pseudoarchaeological theories. Tartaria is seen by its believers to be a globe spanning civilisation unified by a single language and culture including architecture, technology, and originating from Hyperborea3 . 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