Wikipedia Editing

Wikipedia is one of the most-visited websites in the world and often the first port of call for the public, which is why keeping it updated with information about Scottish archaeology is so important. 

Women in Scottish Archaeology Edit-a-thon  

Fewer than 20% of biographies on English-language Wikipedia are dedicated to women. In 2019, Dig It! teamed up with Edinburgh Central Library and Wikimedia UK with support from archaeologist Dr Doug Rocks-Macqueen to deliver a workshop teaching members of the public how to add new pages and improve existing ones.  

The participants documented the achievements of Scottish women working in archaeology (or women working in Scottish archaeology) past and present. This included a updating a page on Margaret E.B. Simpson, who’s considered to be the first professional woman archaeologist in Scotland. These pages received over 55,000 views in the four weeks after the event. 

Scotland Digs 2023: Free Days Out

As part of our Scotland Digs 2023: Free Days Out campaign, we worked with student Elliot Knell and Doug to upload images and update and create Wikipedia pages about sites, monuments and places connected to the campaign. This included the Cammo, Knowe of Swandro, Pittarthie Castle, Tranent to Cockenzie Railway, Cockenzie and Port Seton, Hilton of Cadbol Chapel and Hilton of Cadboll Stone pages, as well as the 2023 in Archaeology page. 

If you’d like to find out more about editing Wikipedia, visit the Wikimedia UK website.  

Tranent to Cockenzie Railway excavations by the 1722 Waggonway Heritage Project (By Elknell – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=135341453)