Archaeology by video
11 April 2011
Amateur archaeologists can now get a step by step, online lesson from professionals in how to survey and record rural settlements in Scotland. Four videos showcasing different surveying techniques have been launched online and are available to download from the Scotland’s Rural Past (SRP) website, YouTube and Vimeo.
SRP, a Scotland-wide project supported by RCHAMS and comprising 65 volunteer-led projects involved in researching and recording medieval and later rural settlements, produced the videos to give detailed instructions to volunteers and students across the country. Field sketching, using hand-held GPS devices, tape and offset, and plane table techniques are all covered in the videos, with a detailed guide on how to carry these out.
The videos are based on free training courses run by SRP for volunteers: to date 40 courses have taken place across Scotland covering a range of skills which enable volunteers to identify and record archaeological features in the landscape. The demand for fieldwork training courses continues to be high. The aim of the new videos is to plug the gap that will arise when the SRP project’s funding comes to an end in September.
By making the videos available to download, the SRP team hopes to teach volunteers about archaeological surveying techniques long after the project ends, and to inspire people to become more actively involved with their heritage.
Tertia Barnett, SRP Project Manager, said “These videos will provide a great legacy for years to come. They’re a really useful tool for anyone interested in archaeology, and we hope that they will encourage more people to explore the landscape around them. Archaeological survey and recording helps you look at the landscape more closely and understand it better. These videos are aimed at anyone who is interested in how our landscape has developed, regardless of whether or not they have archaeological experience. The videos are self explanatory and can be used by volunteers to build up skills and experience gradually.”
A fieldwork manual aimed at volunteers and students, which covers a wider range of techniques and provides further context for the videos, will be published by SRP in September 2011 and will be available from RCAHMS and on the SRP website.
