Archaeologists Reveal their Work Outside the Trenches as Scotland’s Summer Dig Season Goes Digital
Scotland’s dig season has gone digital this year with archaeologists and experts running online events and sharing the “before and after” side of excavations.
Scotland is shining a spotlight on its world-class archaeology this summer with the Scotland Digs Digital campaign, which will bring together online events and live updates from across the country.
In 2019, Scotland’s summer excavations were collated for the first time through a social media campaign.
With much of this year’s fieldwork being postponed due to COVID-19, many commercial archaeologists, heritage bodies and community groups are turning to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms to reach members of the public with events such as talks, storytelling sessions and pub quizzes.
Experts are also inviting audiences into their homes to give them an insight into what they’re working on during lockdown, and the essential work that happens before and after fieldwork.
Archaeologists such as Ann Clarke have already shared images on social media while working in lockdown, including this photograph of a Neolithic polished stone axe from Orkney (Image Credit: Ann Clarke)
As the summer dig season arrives, social media users can follow along under the dedicated hashtag: #ScotlandDigsDigital
Dr Jeff Sanders, Project Manager at Dig It!, said:
“Scottish archaeology is all about discovering Scotland’s stories and the challenges facing the sector this summer have not stopped us from adding new chapters. Everyone is working to adapt to the current situation in order to ensure that Scottish archaeology remains open to everyone – an ethos which is at the heart of this campaign.
Amy Eastwood, Head of Grants at Historic Environment Scotland, said:
“This digital campaign is a fantastic way to encourage people to get involved at home and engage with Scotland’s heritage. I hope that people will follow the hashtag and find out more about excavations and the valuable work that’s carried out by archaeologists throughout the country to uncover Scotland’s stories.”
Scotland’s diverse and varied archaeological projects are vital to the telling of the country’s story. In addition to empowering communities, their work helps create a connection to the past peoples of Scotland “which shapes our sense of identity and belonging”, as stated in Scotland’s Archaeology Strategy launched in 2015.
With support from their audiences, it’s hoped that their fieldwork will resume in 2021 and these projects will once again welcome members of the public with free tours, open days and volunteering opportunities.
Details can be found on the website, along with information on upcoming events including talks on the replica “Atlantic Wall” near Stirling, rock art in one of Orkney’s 5,000-year-old tombs, and the Kirkcudbright Bay shipwrecks in Dumfries & Galloway.
Online events taking place this summer include Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme’s upcoming talk on wrecks in Kirkcudbright Bay with The SCAPE Trust (Image Credit: Solway Firth Partnership)
Dig It!, which advertises archaeology events throughout the year, is coordinated by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and primarily funded by Historic Environment Scotland.
For more information, visit the new Scotland Digs webpages.
Header Image: Natalie Mitchell of AOC Archaeology tweeted this photograph of an Iron Age bowl which was undergoing pre-treatment prior to vacuum freeze drying in May (Image Credit: AOC Archaeology Group / University of the Highlands and Islands)
