What is Trowel & Error?
Trowel & Error: Figuring out the past together through archaeology’ is a project which explores people’s experiences and understanding of archaeological content and outputs, with the aim of helping us and the archaeological community to better understand what varying audiences hope to gain from archaeology.
Project Update
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who took part in the Trowel & Error survey, either digitally or on paper. The survey has now closed and we received over 2500 responses which blew us away! Your insights are incredibly valuable, and we are now in the process of examining all of these responses carefully. We are also continuing to conduct workshops and interviews, to gather more information about peoples’ experiences with archaeological content. With funding and support from Historic England, we have been able to conduct workshops across England, from Carlisle to Plymouth. Cadw kindly enabled us to expand the project to Wales and run two workshops in Cardiff, and most recently with funding from Historic Environment Scotland, we were able to travel up to Glasgow and Edinburgh to run two workshops earlier in February. As the project wraps up, we are now focusing on delivering our online workshops and interviews to reach those we are not able to visit in person. If you took part in one of these workshops, we thank you again for your thoughtful and creative responses. Trowel & Error is on track to have findings by the end of March, and we look forward to sharing these with you soon. If you have any questions about Trowel & Error, please reach out to the Project Researcher Liberty on email at [email protected]
Why is it called Trowel & Error?
Our amazing young associate network assisted us in finding a new identity for the Public User Needs Survey 2 (PUNS2) that we are running in collaboration with MOLA, and with funding support from Historic England, as part of the 21st Century Challenges in Archaeology Project. PUNS2 builds upon the previous Publication User Needs Survey from 2001, that explored the archaeological community’s attitudes towards archaeological reports and publications. This time, we want to hear from everyone! Therefore, we’re proud to introduce ‘Trowel & Error: Figuring out the past together through archaeology’.
Background to Trowel & Error/PUNS2
The Public User Needs Survey (PUNS2) builds on a survey first undertaken in 2001 and titled ‘Publication of Archaeological Projects: A user needs survey (PUNS)’. This CBA-led project examined the use of archaeological fieldwork publications by the archaeological community in the UK and was initiated partly in response to a perceived under-use of archaeological project publications and archives, and partly because of uncertainty about what information archaeologists and wider audiences wished to learn from them. Ultimately, the original report produced a series of recommendations which helped shape the production and dissemination of fieldwork publications in the following years. The report was undertaken at a significant moment in archaeological history, in tandem with the development of the Archaeology Data Service and recognised the important role digital data collection and dissemination would play in shaping how we share and access archaeological information today.
This time, however, the scope of the project will be much broader, encompassing all of the different ways we access and share information today – including social media, open access publications, films and blogs – and targeting a broader range of audiences from professionals, grassroots groups and the wider public.
We will gather feedback from a diversified audience through a range of digital and non-digital methods with the aim of understanding how audiences currently engage, and want to engage, with archaeological outputs. Consequently, we will arrive at a set of recommendations to use as guidance for those who commission and/or generate archaeological outputs.
A summary of the original PUNS project can be found here: Jones, S., MacSween, A., Jeffrey, S., Morris, R. and Heyworth, M. 2003 From the Ground Up The Publication of Archaeological Projects: a user needs survey. A summary, Internet Archaeology 14. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.14.4.
How can I find out more?
We will post project updates on this webpage, but you can also keep up to date by signing up to our CBA newsletter!
Our Funders and Collaborators
PUNS2 is led by CBA working in partnership with MOLA. The project is grant funded by Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, and Cadw, and is being undertaken as part of the 21st Century Challenges in Archaeology project (21 CAP).
MOLA
Historic England
Historic Environment Scotland
Cadw