The Galloway Glens’ community archaeology project, Can You Dig It, has released more resources to support people in researching and recording their local areas.
Can You Dig it is a community archaeology project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland through the Galloway Glens scheme. It has been running since 2019 and aims to support people in gaining technical skills that will allow them to continue their own research during and after the duration of the project.
One of their ongoing projects is called ‘MyGalloway’. This is designed to inspire people to improve the national historic record for the Galloway Glens area, so that all the important information that local people hold is not lost. New or old photos of local buildings and historic sites are most interesting, as are memories of what buildings used to be used for or where they once stood.
The Can You Dig It team has produced a number of Inspiration sheets for Galloway Glens towns and villages, including Kirkcudbright, Castle Douglas, New Galloway, Carsphairn, Dalry and most recently Tongland. They can all be accessed through the CYDI page of the Galloway Glens website, https://gallowayglens.org/projects/community-archaeology-programme-can-you-dig-it/ or by contacting [email protected]
The information is all submitted to the national historic record through MyCanmore, https://canmore.org.uk/contributions. CYDI has a comprehensive information sheet about how to register and contribute to Canmore on their webpage. Or you can contact Helen Keron directly for more support.
Helen Keron, Education and Community Engagement Officer for the Galloway Glens, said “I am always astounded by the amount of historical knowledge that people have about their local area. It would be fantastic if some of this information was transferred into Canmore, the national historic record, so that we know it will never be lost. Something that seems really ordinary just now, like what a building used to be used for, or a photo as it stands now, will be of great use to future historical researchers, so go on – give them a helping hand!” Claire Williamson, Senior Archaeologist for Rathmell Archaeology and the CDYI Project Manager, said “It’s very easy to use MyCanmore when you’ve got the hang of it, and myself and the team are always here to help get you started if you need any more support. We can even upload your photos for you if the internet isn’t your thing – just get in touch.
This is a great project to do over the darker months – you don’t need to go anywhere to do it, and it really will make a big difference to the store of knowledge we have about the Galloway Glens.”
