Cite this as: Owen, K. and Jones, R. 2019 Presenting an Archaeology for Everyone: Changing our approach to publicly funded archaeological investigation in Scotland, Internet Archaeology 51. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.51.3
Scotland launched its first ever Archaeology Strategy in 2015, following a wide consultation within and beyond the sector (Figure 1). It is driven forward by a committee known as the Scottish Strategic Archaeology Committee, whose members represent different areas of expertise in the sector, ranging from academia to community archaeology and education. We are now in the delivery phase of the plan, and various partner organisations are leading on a range of activities to help meet the aims and objectives of the strategy (Scottish Strategic Archaeology Committee 2016).
The strategy has five aims:
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the lead public body for the Historic Environment in Scotland (established in 2015), is leading on Aim 1 but plays a key role in the delivery of all five areas, and also provides funding to support the delivery of the strategy.
HES receives a grant from government enabling us to carry out our business, in line with our Corporate Plan, together with income from charging and revenue through our 345 properties. As part of this agreement with Government, HES supports the Historic Environment through the provision of £14.5m in grants to the sector. This is divided into a number of schemes, the largest going into building repair and town regeneration schemes, but we also have a £1.4m scheme for archaeology known as the Archaeology Programme.
This funding programme was originally set up to deal with 'rescue' archaeology, and the management of threatened archaeological remains is still a priority within the programme, particularly in relation to our eroding coastal heritage. The strategy and its five aims now provide a framework for decision-making around funding (as the programme is over-subscribed with bids annually). This article focuses on aspects of HES's role in delivering the strategy, including through our grant programmes.
What do we mean by public benefit? We should rethink the public benefit of archaeology to highlight its integrated relationship with other disciplines and how it can contribute to the consideration of contemporary issues – this could help raise the profile of our subject. Considered from the perspective of the archaeologist, the public benefit of archaeology is to tell the story of the past because that in itself should enrich lives. This is a noble aim, predicated on the fact that, as archaeologists, we believe that knowledge and understanding allows for a fuller and more satisfying existence. It gives us the ability to contextualise the events of the present, and to make comparisons between behaviours now and in the past and changes in human approaches to their environment – extremely topical in this time of climate change and extreme weather events.
Many would agree with us, but in a changing world with finite resources and immediate problems, does this definition of archaeology's public benefit serve it well enough to ensure it continues to be resourced? Or do we need to think more deeply about where the synergies are between archaeology and other issues in the public consciousness to ensure that archaeological management and interpretation are also seen as important.
The strategy's first aim, Delivering Archaeology, intends 'to broaden and deepen the impact and public benefit of archaeology within and beyond Scotland' and 'through communication and innovative practice, foster a culture of collaboration and ambition locally, nationally and internationally' (Figure 2).
The focus of this aim, therefore, is how we might improve communication by incorporating new ways of doing things and thinking more openly and broadly. This should in turn lead us to present ourselves more effectively and widely, work with other disciplines to embed links to archaeological understanding and find innovative ways to do both these things in a way that will speak to groups and individuals who might not have previously engaged with the subject.
In considering how to increase Public Benefit using the HES Archaeology Programme, two activities are highlighted here. Firstly, we are looking at our legacy list – sites that were excavated many years ago but for some reason or other were never completed and written up for dissemination, with the finds and records awaiting appropriate deposition in the relevant archives and collections.
There is a generation of archaeology students coming through university that have grown up with public archaeology and embedded community involvement, thanks in part to the portrayal of archaeology on TV programmes such as Time Team and the popularity of 'Big Digs'. The HES Archaeology Legacy List is being reviewed with a view to eventually adding unfinished and 'ownerless' projects to an online portal, so that this new generation of researchers can bring their awareness of public benefit to the interpretation of older projects, and apply new techniques to old archives. This online resource can serve a range of audiences, whether matching up students with potential research topics (also linking in to research frameworks, see Aim 2 below), or enabling local community groups to carry out further research into their area. The first section of the legacy list to be looked at in detail has been the Highland Local Authority Area because it is embarking on the creation of a community group-led regional archaeological research framework. Outstanding projects identified through our investigations are being fed back to the research framework leads.
Secondly, and building on that popularity of archaeology, we want to promote the Archaeology Strategy for use by everyone. Key to increasing the public benefit of publicly funded archaeological projects are wide-reaching communications strategies that will disseminate the information gathered as widely as possible. This is also important because it allows HES and the other lead bodies to set the tone of the messages that we want to convey about Scotland's Archaeology Strategy and work under this banner. There are already numerous engaged audiences, ranging from local and regional societies through to universities, public sector bodies and international heritage bodies, but to reach new audiences, we need to use different and new media, such as:
Enhancing understanding is the key objective here, 'to increase knowledge, understanding and interpretation of the past' and 'to make knowledge discoverable, accessible, referable and reusable now and for future generations'.
Historic Environment Scotland's Archaeology Programme has traditionally funded academic outputs, such as monographs and papers, as the end products of the projects we support, but there is now the potential to present archaeological information in a variety of ways, and the programme is changing to support this. The most interesting and well-received innovations in interpretation and presentation have come where archaeological investigation is allied to scientific investigation, and this also has the added benefit of demonstrating crossovers between our subject area and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM subjects). Examples include the digital documentation of sites at risk of loss, and the use of facial reconstruction techniques on human remains, both of which are supported through the activities of HES research and through grants to others from our Archaeology Programme – these help bridge the gap between archaeological remains and our technology-dominated 21st century lives.
We are also actively promoting Open Access and Open Data – supporting digital outputs that have the potential to reach far wider audiences than traditional paper publication.
Another of our objectives is to encourage 'big picture' stories, in line with the overall ambition to mainstream archaeology and reach as wide an audience as possible. Big picture stories, produced by projects that examine a broad overarching issue or problem, are often an easy sell from a media perspective. Sometimes this is because they answer a big question which is well known, but more often it is because they brush up against issues that are relevant today, for example the movement of people, and the definition of self against other. One example of such a project that we are currently supporting is The University of Aberdeen's Northern Picts Project (Figure 2). This is a community embedded project that looks at one of Europe's 'lost peoples', the Picts, who have long been an emotive topic in Scotland. The project also uses innovative digital reconstruction in its re-creation of an early medieval royal site at Rhynie in Aberdeenshire, and recently posted a short video that was used by National Geographic magazine and achieved over 330,000 views in its first 24 hours, demonstrating the power of digital dissemination in reaching wide audiences.
Another is from a conference on South Uist in 2017 – a conference hosted by the local community and inviting a range of archaeological professionals who had worked on the Western Isles. One of the most powerful papers was by an osteoarchaeologist on her analysis of some human remains uncovered during excavations on a sandy peninsular. The story that she told, of a child who had experienced episodes of famine at the age of one and twelve, was incredibly emotional, conjuring up a picture of just how difficult life was on this island three thousand years ago. The interest and engagement of the local community on the Uists more than justifies the effort spent in making scientific discoveries more accessible. In the next year, we hope to support a poster in the local airport on Benbecula that will tell visitors the story of the excavations there in the 1950s in advance of the building of the Uists Rocket Range. This is another story that has been illuminated through applying new scientific techniques to an unpublished site archive.
Prior to the official opening of the Queensferry Crossing, Scotland's third bridge, at an iconic location on the Forth north of Edinburgh, alongside the Forth Bridge World Heritage Site and 1960s Forth Road Bridge, the new crossing, of motorway standard, was closed to traffic but open for people to Walk the Bridge over one weekend. Among the facts and figures on display to the people on the bridge, alongside a statistic about the amount of concrete used in its construction, was the proudly displayed fact that Scotland's earliest dwelling, dated to around 10,252 years ago, was found during the construction of the bridge. This is significant progress in mainstreaming our archaeological heritage.
Archaeology tells us stories about how we came to be where we are, and illuminates the lives of the people who lived in these spaces before us. It is therefore a powerful tool for engaging local communities with their people, places and heritage.
Our third aim is one of Caring and Protecting, 'to ensure that the material evidence of the human past is valued and cared for by society and managed sustainably for present and future generations' and 'to enhance existing and develop new methods that encourage the sustainable management and protection of our archaeological resource'.
The sustainable management of archaeological remains faced with climate change, agricultural and environmental erosion, dereliction, vegetation and animal encroachment inevitably results in archaeology competing for priority and resources against other economic and social pressures. As such, Aim 3 is where the definition of archaeology's public benefit is most relevant. How can we ensure resourcing for archaeology in the face of more immediate pressures? The obvious answer, if easier said than done, is to make it clear that the management and understanding of archaeological material can assist in tackling bigger questions.
A solution is to generate innovative ideas for encouraging management with positive heritage impacts. Between 2012 and 2016, over 1,000 volunteers took part in the Scotland's Coastal Heritage at Risk Project (SCHARP), coordinated by SCAPE (Scotland's Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion), based at the University of St Andrews. This project, part-funded by HES, allowed volunteers to become actively involved in recording and monitoring coastal heritage on their doorstep. Alongside HES, SCAPE are working with the National Coastal Change Assessment (NCCA), a project set up to collate information on coastal change, resilience and susceptibility to future coastal erosion. As such, the local engagement of 'citizen archaeologists' with their heritage is feeding a national study of coastal change, helping to contribute to and test the NCCA models.
Another HES-supported scheme, Archaeology Scotland's Adopt-a-Monument Project, exemplifies how archaeology can have positive social benefits, and can be used as a tool to upskill and integrate disenfranchised groups and to connect non-traditional audiences with Scotland's past, helping to grow a sense of place and belonging. The Adopt-a-Monument project is working with Stirling Young Carers Service looking at the role of an archaeologist. The organisation works with young people (between 7 and 18) who are primary or secondary carers, by providing support, information, advice, support groups, day and residential trips. 'Playing the Past' delivered a series of engagement activities centred around the former football ground at Cathkin Park, Glasgow. The sporting heritage project is keen to characterise any archaeological remains associated with Cathkin Park football ground and collect local memories of people who have engaged with the site. In addition, Adopt-a-Monument worked with the Scottish Waterways Trust on a Canal College scheme, which gave young people based in Falkirk, West Dunbartonshire and Inverness the opportunity to take part in excavation and site recording, building survey, plane-table survey and photographic survey of their local waterway heritage.
The purpose of this aim is Encouraging Greater Engagement, 'to enable and encourage engagement with our past through creative and collaborative working, active involvement, learning for all ages and enhanced archaeological presentation'.
This aim is critical to broadening the appeal of archaeology and opening up participation. It also assists in futureproofing the sector. There is a strong emphasis on developing educational resources for all levels of learning, recognising the opportunity that Scotland's 'Curriculum for Learning' offers. Current areas being explored include utilising an existing Outdoor Woodland Learning network and creating a Heritage Educational Resources Portal.
As part of HES' work on the Antonine Wall, in collaboration with the local authorities along this Roman frontier (part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site), a new resource pack has been identified comprising a handling box that can be borrowed from the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre together with teaching notes around four key themes. In addition, digital resources have been created including an App (also part of a Creative Europe funded project with colleagues in Bavaria and Austria) with digital reconstructions and augmented reality and a game – Go Roman – a quest-type game based on actual evidence from forts along the Antonine Wall (Figures 3–5).
We are also seeking to promote and build capacity within all archaeological funding for projects that provide interpretation that includes wider engagement with, and long-term benefits for, the public. Through the Archaeology Programme, HES has been providing a number of grants to support projects with wide public engagement and hopefully long-term benefits. A facet of the HES supported Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership project, Phoenix Futures (a charity and housing association that helps people overcome drug and alcohol problems) has worked with Northlight Heritage on a Local Landscape Heroes Trail. This celebrates the people who have changed or been inspired by the Clyde and Avon Valley region, and who have left important historical legacies in the landscape that can be seen and enjoyed today. Purple markers guide visitors along a trail that is 6.5 miles long but can be done in stages taking in everything from a Roman fort through to some Japanese Gardens.
This year, Aden Archaeology in Aberdeen will be using archaeology on a local public park to try to engage harder to reach audiences including those of a Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) origin, those aged 65 and over, those with a long-term illness or disability and those in the lower social grades. They will also work with schools and Community Learning Teams to target young people disengaged from learning and most in need of alternative creative outdoor learning heritage opportunities and skills development. This project is likely to make a big impact, reaching over 1000 people, and leave a legacy by developing the local Farming Museum and access to the park as well as educational resources.
2017 was a Scottish Government themed Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. The fact that archaeology was included in the title was a measure of the importance that Scottish ministers place on archaeology as a national asset. The themed year provided an opportunity for a range of imaginative projects including a 'Big Dig' at Bridge of Tilt in Perthshire. Here a local community, including school children, gained hands-on experience of their local archaeology inspired by the digital recreation of the face of a Pictish man excavated in the area in the 1980s. 'DigIt', a nationwide celebration of archaeology begun in 2015, brought us 'DigIt' TV. This used social media such as YouTube to get archaeological stories to a wide audience, particularly young people. Indeed, social media provides us with a range of different ways to engage, and can often be the starting point for stories that get picked up in different media outlets, thereby reaching an even wider range of audiences.
The final aim is all about Innovation and Skills and seeks 'to ensure that people have the opportunity to acquire and use the archaeological skills that they need or desire, and that those skills provide the underpinning for innovation in the understanding, interrogation, learning and funding of archaeology'.
This aim is about providing the right training opportunities for those who wish to acquire new skills, as well as promoting innovation and science in archaeology. Integral to this aim is multidisciplinary working and the realisation of synergies between archaeology and other subjects. Demonstrating these links is key to justifying what we do to the public, more so if we can make clear that archaeology innovates as well as borrows from other industries and subject areas.
Building History was a pilot cross-sectoral event bringing together students from both construction and archaeology in order to enable these professions, which often occupy the same space, to gain an understanding of each other's knowledge and skills. Partnership working was at the heart of this project, with involvement from Forth Valley College, University of Stirling, Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, Dig It! 2017 (co-ordinated by Archaeology Scotland and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland), Historic Environment Scotland (HES), The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and The National Trust for Scotland. Partly as a result of this successful pilot, discussions have started on the development of a college course to train new archaeological recruits that should not only provide more archaeologists at a time of significant UK infrastructure projects but also diversify entry routes and backgrounds of archaeologists by recruiting non-graduates.
Living on Water, a three-year project that started in 2017, uses cutting edge scientific techniques combined with more traditional archaeological techniques to develop a social history of Loch Tay's crannog dwellers (Figure 6). The project is creating interest through social media and an online presence as well as benefiting from local interest. The Scottish Crannog Centre, a Five-Star tourist attraction situated on Loch Tay, is one of the project's partners and a beneficiary of the increase in interest and knowledge about crannogs generated by the project.
The Archaeology Strategy's Vision is for:
a Scotland where archaeology is for everyone. A place where the study of the past offers opportunities for us now and in the future to discover, care for, promote and enjoy our rich and diverse heritage, contributing to our wellbeing and knowledge and helping to tell Scotland's stories in their global context. http://archaeologystrategy.scot/
At a time when public expenditure is squeezed, the consequences of Brexit are still being debated, and climate change is happening, we need public support for archaeology more than ever. We have a responsibility to make our outcomes relevant, remembering how much archaeological work is publicly funded: while the developer pays, it is archaeologists employed by national and local government who set the terms and justification for the work.
Why should the public pay if they are to get nothing back? Are we just undertaking research for purely personal selfish reasons to create books that no-one will read and will simply gather dust on a shelf? Or is archaeology a key tool in the contextualisation and understanding of contemporary issues and a vital partner to other subject areas and research, whose relevance is less questioned? We would argue that the public benefits of archaeology go beyond the secondary consumption of research outputs though the media, and that by rethinking where we fit, we can make it clear that archaeologists can assist in the active protection and enhancement of the built environment, help people to take pride in a strong, fair and inclusive identity and contribute to a better educated, more skilled and more successful workforce, by emphasising research and innovation. We would argue that archaeology and its contribution to the historic environment sits at the heart of a flourishing and sustainable Scotland. By providing support for projects that look to have contemporary outcomes, the overall justification for public funds being spent on archaeological excavations becomes stronger, and so archaeological research may come to be seen as a key tool in the mediation of social and economic challenges (Figure 7).
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