Scotland Digs Campaigns

Since 2019, our annual Scotland Digs awareness-raising campaigns have showcased the archaeological fieldwork activities coordinated across the country each summer by community groups, charities, commercial units, universities and more.  

The campaigns advertise free or low-cost (under £15) fieldwork events which are open to everyone with no experience required. This includes archaeological excavations and other fieldwork activities (such as fieldwalking and geophysics workshops), site visits, tours and open days.  

The campaigns also previously collated updates from fieldwork sites which were posted by archaeologists, volunteers and visitors. This includes sites that aren’t physically accessible to the public.  

During these campaigns, this information can be found on the Scotland Digs pages on the Dig It! website. They’re also made available on social media via a dedicated hashtag and in the monthly Dig It! Digest.  

In addition to social media, website and e-newsletter coverage, the campaigns have involved media releases, creative works produced by Scotland-based photographers, illustrators and more, podcast episodes, and free expert-led webinars for the sector on topics such as accessibility at fieldwork sites and communicating climate change through archaeology. 

Previous campaign themes – including Scotland Digs Digital in 2020, Scotland Digs 2022: Climate Action Archaeology, Scotland Digs 2023: Free Days Out and Scotland Digs 2024: International Connections – have been chosen to reflect contemporary issues. Two of these campaigns have been recognised at national awards which provided another opportunity to showcase the work of the sector. Scotland Digs Digital was shortlisted for the Association for Heritage Interpretation’s 2021 Engaging People Awards in the Lockdown Response category and Scotland Digs 2022: Climate Action Archaeology was Highly Commended at the Archaeological Achievement Awards in the Public Dissemination or Presentation category.  

If you want to find out more, contact us, subscribe to the Dig It! Digest or follow Dig It! on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, LinkedIn or Threads.  

Waggonway 1722 excavations during Scotland Digs 2021 (© Shahbaz Majeed 2021)