RCAHMS Community Engagement 2013
Date 2013
Event ID 1112231
Category Project
Type Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1112231
The Commission’s programme of community engagement went from strength to strength in 2013, starting with the research of the former museum buildings in Kingussie for the Am Fasgadh Regeneration Company (Kingussie). Fieldwork with local volunteers started early in the year on the Dunachton and Kincraig estate and this marked the beginning of Year Three of the Cairngorms Communities Heritage Partnership. Work, which also saw staff give lectures, lead guided walks and contribute to workshops, continued throughout the summer and autumn, and in September a week in Badenoch concentrated on tying up some loose ends from earlier fieldwork on Alvie estate.
In addition to the prospective walking that was undertaken, detailed surveys were carried out of the Lynchat souterrain (last planned c1835) and a cruck-framed byre at Croftroy, Newtonmore. The opportunity to plan the Delfour ring cairn, one of the more important prehistoric monuments in the Badenoch area, was also taken. The Cairngorms project has also drawn attention to several cruck-framed buildings in Badenoch and Strathspey and, following on from this, Skills for the Future Trainee Alison Clark worked with staff to pull together all RCAHMS’ drawings and photographs of such buildings; these are now highlighted in an online showcase (see http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/collection-highlights/cruckframed-buildings). These illustrations include some of the finest drawings from RCAHMS surveyors, going back half a century and more, and this is the first time they have been celebrated as a coherent body of work. The work of the Community Archaeology Team was not restricted to the Cairngorms in 2013, and what is now a rolling programme to maintain engagement with and practical support and training for active community groups saw activities undertaken in several areas. These included: a two-day event with members of NoSAS and ARCH discussing aspects of survey work carried out by NoSAS at sites on the Black Isle and in Strathconon; a lecture in Dingwall on Scottish shielings; two workshops for the Hidden Heritage project in Arrochar; a training day on St Serf’s Island, Loch Leven, covering photography and GPS survey; a two-day field training session near Newton Stewart for volunteers from groups in the SW; and a guided visit to Blackhill fort near Lanark, as part of Scottish Archaeology Month.
Information from RCAHMS (DES 2013, 203-4)
