One of the flagship projects of the Galloway Glens Scheme is a Community Archaeology programme called ‘Can You Dig It’, started in early 2019. This project, jointly funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland, allowed volunteers, supported by professional archaeologists from Rathmell Archaeology, to carry out digs and investigations at sites up and down the Galloway Glens area, from the deserted settlement at Polmaddy above Carsphairn to Moat Brae and Castledykes in Kirkcudbright. They also uncovered a deserted kiln barn and farmstead on the Raiders Road, dug for an iron-age fort on Little Wood Hill on the NTS Threave Estate and surveyed various churchyards. The programme was aimed very much at enthusiastic amateurs, although there is an enormous amount of archaeological knowledge embedded in our communities, and so Rathmell Archaeology also held workshops to teach new skills such as Online Resources to Support your Research and 3-D Modelling of Artefacts.
You can see a summary of what was achieved to date here: https://gallowayglens.org/can-you-dig-it-end-of-year-report-published/
This week sees the announcement that the Galloway Glens Scheme has secured match funding from Historic Environment Scotland for a further two years of activity through the ‘Can You Dig it’ project, now able to run until 2022.
Helen Keron, Education and Community Engagement Officer for the Galloway Glens, said
“We were so impressed by the enthusiasm and knowledge of our Can You Dig It volunteers last year, it’s absolutely wonderful to get continuation funding from HES so that we can continue working with them and with new participants to learn more about the fascinating archaeology of the Galloway Glens area.
The COVID 19 outbreak has of course affected our 2020 fieldwork plans, and so the Can You Dig It project will be solely an online presence for the next few months. It already has an excellent Facebook and Twitter feed, with lots of fascinating historical information about the Galloway Glens area, and you can look forward to more of that, plus VLOGs and webinars in the near future. However, Can You Dig It will be back in the field in the summers of 2021 and 2022, with lots of exciting plans for supporting volunteers in gaining ever more skills.
A big focus of the project will continue to be on accessibility and participation, so if you’ve always wanted to find out more about archaeology but are worried about whether you’d be able to manage it, just get in touch and we will make all the adaptations we possibly can. Thanks are due to all our Steering Group members, in particular David Devereux and the Council’s Archaeologist, Andrew Nicholson, for their support and guidance of the Can You Dig It project so far and over the next 2 years.
Tom Rees, Managing Director of Rathmell Archaeology, said
“The HES continuation funding is great news and we’re all looking forward to supporting the great CYDI volunteers and local enthusiasts across the coming years. The Galloway Glens contains an amazing archaeological resource that can illuminate how people in the past lived and worked in this landscape. It is a privilege to continue to work with the local communities to explore, reveal and present these ancient stories.”
Dr Kevin Grant, Archaeology Manager at Historic Environment Scotland, said:
“We are delighted to be supporting Galloway Glens ‘Can You Dig It’ with a second phase of grant funding through our Archaeology Programme. We look forward to continuing a partnership that has seen communities explore the rich history of their local landscape from the stone age right through to hidden history from the Second World War. The project has been successful in breaking down barriers to participation and delivering a range of activities in the field, classrooms and online that are accessible to everyone. We look forward to seeing what else they achieve in the coming years.”
To find out more about the Can You Dig It upcoming programme of talks, digs, surveys and workshops, sign up for their infrequent newsletter via [email protected].
Follow the progress of the programme on Facebook and Twitter @GGLPArchaeology, and see www.gallowayglens.org/Resources for their published resources on local archaeology (scroll down to the ‘Can You Dig It’ section.)
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