Join us for a celebration of participatory archaeology as we hear from speakers from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England delivering a range of diverse and dynamic projects and activities all designed to help more people participate in archaeology.
Each year across the UK there are thousands of opportunities to take part in archaeology from the activities of local groups and societies to projects run by organisations such as Archaeology Scotland and the Council for British Archaeology.
Alongside the opportunity to find out more about archaeology, develop new fieldwork and research skills and contribute new knowledge to our understanding of places and experiences, these participatory opportunities often bring a much broader range of benefits to the participants, from improving health and wellbeing, opportunities for informal learning and creative practice, and creating new friendships and a sense of community and place.
Following the presentations we will have time for questions and will share some top tips on how to find opportunities to participate in archaeology in your local area.
Speakers
Jane Miller, Learning Officer, Archaeology Scotland - Lifelong Learning in Lockdown (Scotland)
The pandemic had a huge impact on many people but for those in vulnerable groups, no longer able to meet face to face, it was particularly difficult. How could archaeology be used to bring people together during these difficult times and help combat the isolating effects of lockdown and its impact on wellbeing? Archaeology Scotland’s Learning Team addressed this issue by delivering a series of multi-sensory online archaeology workshops for people living with dementia and their carers.
CAER Heritage - ‘We dig Caerau!’ Cardiff’s Hidden Hillfort and the power of community archaeology (Wales)
Our talk will think about the significance of co-producing archaeological and historical research in close partnership with communities, and consider how valuing local heritage and the collective discovery of the past has power to create new and positive life changing opportunities for all involved. To illustrate this, we will talk about the CAER Heritage Hidden Hillfort Project from its humble beginnings to becoming Times Higher Education award winning, flagship civic mission and development project for both Cardiff University and community development partners Action in Caerau and Ely (ACE).
Mapping Monuments - 'Mapping Monuments': a community heritage project on the landscape legacies of the Ordnance Survey (Northern Ireland)
'Mapping Monuments' is a community heritage project in Northern Ireland exploring the legacies and landscapes of the early Ordnance Survey (OS) within the Binevenagh Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The aim of 'Mapping Monuments' is to combine archaeological and historical research to highlight the importance of the sites and monuments associated with the OS in and around Lough Foyle. Community-based project volunteers are working with staff from Queens University Belfast and Causeway Coast & Glens Heritage Trust, and have been engaged with local field-survey and documentary research to understand better the field-operations of the OS who were surveying in this area 200 years ago.
Petuaria ReVisited - Exploring Roman Brough, East Yorkshire (England)
Petuaria ReVisited is a community-based project set up in 2016 to explore the Roman past of Brough on Humber. Petuaria was the Roman name for Brough, which was then the tribal capital of the Parisi tribe who occupied East Yorkshire. Investigation so far has revolutionised our knowledge of this rather neglected Roman centre. So far we have undertaken large scale geophysical survey and two seasons of excavation uncovering a major courtyard building and investigated the Roman defences.
