The research presented an experimental and novel investigation within historical archaeology, applied to isolated contexts. The project focused on the establishment of a quarantine system in the Indian Ocean, promoted by colonial empires to contrast the emerging infectious diseases. The main objective of ISLand was to provide a new way of thinking about human interactions within colonial empires and bring colonial studies into dialogue with medical history and the emerging concept of healthscaping. It seeked to do so by studying quarantine facilities in the Indian Ocean during the long nineteenth century, a crucial period for the history of European empires in that region and a flashpoint for the conceptualization of modern public health. Quarantine, traditionally viewed as merely a mechanism for the control of disease, has been analysed as the outward material response to important changes taking place socially, ecologically, and politically at the time, particularly in relation to the diaspora of thousands of indentured workers. The researcher conducted archival investigations and fieldwork in collaboration with an international team in the Flat Island quarantine station, the best-preserved lazaret established in Mauritius after the cholera epidemic of 1856, analysing a historical social setting and natural environment that were radically altered due to the implementation of health management. Over there, dozens of thousands of indentured laborers landed before reaching the mainland. Infrastructure, buildings, and facilities are well-preserved on an abandoned and overgrown islet, remaining virtually untouched since the dissolution of indenture in the 1920s. After detailed recording of archaeological features and surface surveys, previously unidentified hospital district has been located and will be the focus of our fieldwork together with the quarantine cemetery. The reconstruction of the spatial organization and the built landscape of this institution assessed the gap between the benefits claimed by European colonizers and the actual effects on immigrant health conditions through the promotion of public health practices.
Traditional methods were integrated with cutting-edge remote sensing methodologies in landscape archaeology to assess the spatial organization of the quarantine station. The MSCA project was part of a wider investigation on various sites in Mauritius, investigated through the Mauritian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage project, Stanford University, in collaboration with the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. The landscape shaped by disease and death at Flat Island has been effectively compared with a few excavated cemeteries in Mauritius. Furthermore, a comparative approach between the sister Mascarene islands has led to a preliminary analysis of the gender dimension that can be explored within the colonial lazarettos.
The involvement of local stakeholders, research institutes, scholars, and students in the project has raised the interest of the local community in archaeological heritage and scientific research on Mauritian history. Although the results do not generate immediate incomes, they can be used to promote Mauritian cultural heritage, develop cultural tourism, and help shape future legislation for the preservation of archaeological heritage.
