COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE
SOUTH DORSET RIDGEWAY LANDSCAPE PARTNERSHIP AREA:
A PRELIMINARY REVIEW
DRAFT REPORT
A report prepared for:
Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership
PO Box 7318
Dorchester
Dorset
DT1 9FD
By
Andrew Fitzpatrick Heritage
102 Boscombe Grove Road
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH 4PG
Report Reference: AFH Report 13/02.01
January 2013
© A.P. Fitzpatrick 2013
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Community engagement with archaeology in the South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership area:
a preliminary review
Community Engagement with Archaeology in the
South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership Area:
a preliminary review
DRAFT REPORT
1 Introduction
1.1 This report has been prepared to provide a preliminary review of current and possible future models of community engagement with archaeology in the South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership Area (hereafter SDRLP).
1.2 A brief for this report was agreed with the Development Officer before work commenced.
1.3 The report considers the role that the past plays in perceptions of the SDLRP area and the level of interest in engaging with the past, and archaeology in particular. In order to provide a focus for further engagement, some key topics for the Ridgeway contained in the South West Archaeological Research Framework (2008) and which community groups could work on are identified. The archaeology groups and organisations currently active in the SDRLP area are then reviewed as are current models of community archaeology across the UK, and how community engagement with archaeology has been attempted in a range of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and National Parks. In the light of this review suggestions are made about the types of activities and projects that might be considered suitable for community engagement in the SDRPL area and the issues and resource implications for the SDRLP are identified. The report concludes with some recommendations.
2 The role that the past plays in public perceptions of the SDRLP area
2.1 The past plays an important role in shaping perceptions of the South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership Area (hereafter ‘the Ridgeway’). The numerous well-preserved burial mounds that stud the Ridgeway and the presence of mighty hillforts are key elements in giving the landscape a time depth and help shape its individual character.
2.2 The Audience Development Plan for the Ridgeway reports that in the data collected through the 2012 Citizen Panel, the natural environment was considered to be the most important factor contributing to a distinct local character (Resources for Change 2012, section 2.2.2). The second most important factor was the historic environment, which is defined here as comprising the Citizen Panel survey categories of town/village architecture, old buildings, hedgerows, and prehistoric earthworks.
3 The level of interest amongst the public in engaging with the past, and with archaeology in particular, in SDRLP
3.1 In that survey 87% of people said that they would like to learn more about heritage (Resources for Change 2012, section 4.3.2) and 31% would like to become involved in heritage volunteering. Heritage is therefore an important concern amongst visitors to the Ridgeway.
3.2 What is perceived as having heritage value is not well-defined. Broad statements about ceremonial landscapes, while evocative, need to be developed and defined more closely to enable activities that engage with specific audiences to be identified and developed.
4 Topics in the South West Archaeological Research Framework that could be undertaken by community archaeology groups in the SDRLP area
4.1 The South West Archaeological Research Framework is one of a series of Regional Frameworks sponsored by English Heritage. It was produced by volunteers from all sectors of the archaeological community including local societies.
4.2 The Framework provides i) a review of what is currently known (the Resource Assessment), ii) the priorities for research (the Research Agenda) and iii) how those priorities might be implemented (the Research Strategy). The Resource Assessment and the Research Agenda were published in 2008 (Webster 2008). The draft Research Strategy was published in 2011 and consultation on it has closed.
4.3 There are 64 Research Aims, many of which are subdivided so that the actual total of Aims is nearer to 400. Most of these aims are either period based (e.g. ‘what effect did the first Neolithic farming have on the landscape?’) or method based (e.g. ‘the methods used to collect evidence for Neolithic farming and prehistoric farming in general, need to adopt the following new techniques’). Relatively few Aims are geographically specific and this is the case for the South Dorset Ridgeway.
4.4 It should be noted that an important new source of evidence was not available when the Research Framework was prepared. The survey of the Ridgeway by the English Heritage National Mapping Programme was undertaken in 2008-10 and it identified many new sites.
4.5 The large number of Research Aims identified in the Research Agenda means that in practice it is possible to match most possible projects with one or more Aims. However, for the South Dorset Ridgeway three subjects that are key to the ways in which the modern landscape is currently understood and valued may be identified. The first two relate to the well known prehistoric monuments but the third relates to an often overlooked period that laid the foundations for the contemporary landscape;
1. The large number of well preserved prehistoric burial mounds. These were often sited to be prominent features in the contemporary landscape and that remains the case today. A few of these mounds are Neolithic in date (Late Stone Age, c. 4000-2000 BC) but the great majority are Bronze Age (c. 2000-700 BC).
2. The Iron Age hillforts. Dorset as a whole has a large number of hillforts and there are several well-preserved examples in the Ridgeway AONB. These forts date to between 700 BC and the Roman Conquest led by Vespasian in AD 43. The hillfort at Maiden Castle is one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in Britain.
3. The development of the medieval landscape. The medieval landscape provides the base map for the contemporary landscape. Features that are thought to be modern can be surprisingly old, up to 1,000 years. The settlement pattern of villages and farms was established early in the medieval period and the patterns of medieval land use meant that many Bronze Age barrows and Iron Age forts were incorporated into it and preserved in areas of pasture.
4.6 Many remains of these sites survive as well-preserved earthworks but many have also been destroyed and are known only though buried archaeological evidence. For the medieval period some buildings still stand and there is also documentary evidence.
4.7 A number of Research Aims can be matched to these three key subjects;
1 For the prehistoric burial mounds Research Aim 54 is to ‘widen our understanding of monumentality in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.’ That is to say, why the monuments were built where they were, why in that shape, and what they stood in relation to. This Aim is fundamental to the shaping of the Ridgeway.
2 Some fundamental questions remain to be answered about the hillforts. It is not known if all of the hillforts were occupied permanently and continuously though their life. Or did most of the population lived in small farms and only came to the forts in times of crisis? The emphasis is as much on the systems that supported the hillforts, including new permanent farms and the development of field systems, as it is on the forts (Research Aims 21 and 41).
3 For the medieval period the Research Aims also include fundamental questions that link directly to the contemporary landscape of the Ridgeway. The Aims for ‘Early medieval landscapes and territories’ includes topics such as ‘the origins of the parish’ (Research Aim 31), ‘the location and identification of medieval religious buildings, monuments and landscapes’ (Research Aim 32) and ‘to widen our understanding of the origins of villages’ (Research Aim 33).
5 Archaeology groups and organisations active in the SDRLP area
5.1 While many people visit archaeological sites occasionally, the next steps in engaging more actively are typically to visit museums or to join a local archaeology or history society. This section reviews the existing opportunities to become involved in archaeology in and around the Ridgeway. The important role of Dorset’s museums is acknowledged but for the purposes of this report attention is focussed on archaeology societies and other groups. As many visitors to the Ridgeway come from elsewhere in Dorset this information is reviewed at a county scale.
Societies
5.2 By far and away the largest amateur society active in the area is the Dorset Archaeology and Natural History Society with a membership of c. 2000. This is a county-wide society whose interests embrace a range of subjects across the historic and natural environments and beyond. The society runs the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester and has a professional staff. Some of members of the society live outside the county but have a strong interest in it, and there are also some institutional members.
5.3 The other archaeology societies in Dorset do no not cover such a wide range of subjects, are smaller and are based in towns (Shaftesbury, Weymouth, Wareham, Wimborne and Bournemouth) (Appendix 1). The principal activity of these societies is the organisation of lectures and visits (section 6.6 below) and to an extent these activities are also provided by the Friends groups of local museums particularly in the smaller towns with archaeology collections (Appendix 2). A small independent group is run in Bridport by a professional archaeologist (Appendix 1).
5.4 Marine and maritime archaeology is a popular subject and groups with a specialist interest in these field are the Dorset Coast Forum Archaeology Group (Weymouth), the Poole Maritime Trust, and the Weymouth LUNAR (Land and Underwater Archaeological Research) Society.
5.5 Historic Buildings are often a concern of the urban Civic Societies who often have access to meetings organised by the Dorset Building Group. For more recent periods there is also a considerable overlap with the interests of local history societies.
5.6 The Council for British Archaeology is a national umbrella organisation which has regional groups. The SDRLP and Dorset are in the Wessex Region. A significant proportion of the members of the regional groups are members of local societies.
5.7 The Portable Antiquities Scheme operates in England and Wales to promote the reporting of archaeological finds. It is organised by the British Museum on behalf of the Department of Culture Media and Sport. There is a Finds Liaison Officer for each county in England and the Dorset Officer is located with the County Council in Dorchester. In addition Dorset County Council operates a Metal Detectorists Liaison Scheme. It should be noted that detectorists often visit sites beyond their home county.
5.8 The Portable Antiquities Scheme has worked closely with metal detector users and the Liaison Officers regularly attend meetings of metal detecting clubs (Appendix 3), history fairs and other related events. As such the Scheme represents the first point of contact with archaeology and archaeologists for many people.
Fieldwork
5.9 Excavation is still the dominant public perception of archaeology even though it forms only a small proportion of all archaeological works undertaken in the United Kingdom.
5.10 Most archaeological work in Dorset is undertaken by commercial practices as part of the planning process. The short lead-in time for these projects combined with budgetary constraints result in it being unusual for volunteers to be to able to participate in these projects. Conservation management projects can involve field surveys and these are usually also undertaken by commercial practices. The location and timing of these projects is dictated by the developer and/or land manager.
5.11 Research excavations are rare and in recent years most of these have been undertaken by Bournemouth University, though several other universities have undertaken work in the last 20 years. These are usually quite small and they combine the research interests of the staff with the need to provide fieldwork experience for students as a course requirement. The current ‘Durotriges Big Dig!’ at Winterbourne Kingston, north of Bere Regis is unusual in being planned on a larger scale as summer school, and is intended primarily for undergraduate students. In 2013 this project will run for 4 weeks (3 - 28 June, Monday-Friday, 9am - 5pm).
5.12 The National Trust archaeology team undertakes small pieces of fieldwork on its properties and there opportunities for volunteers to participate in this. Training excavations run by professional organisations are rare, the last being on Cranborne Chase which was organised by Wessex Archaeology and which ended in 2009.
5.13 Two amateur local societies in Dorset regularly undertake fieldwork; the East Dorset Antiquarian Society which is based in Wimborne has traditionally worked on Cranborne Chase on a farm owned by one of its members. The Wareham and District Archaeological Society undertook large excavations in the 1990s in a development context and occasionally undertakes small pieces of development work as well as small research excavations. Much of the fieldwork of these two societies is due to the presence of a few highly able and motivated individuals.
5.14 Archaeological fieldwork in Dorset is therefore largely undertaken in response to developments and where research or management works are planned it is in the context of the programme of the sponsoring body. There is no co-ordinated programme of work across the county as whole or in the area of the SDRLP.
5.15 The Archaeology Committee of the Dorset Archaeology and Natural History Society plays a co-ordinating role in the reporting of all fieldwork and in responding to public consultations that involve archaeological matters.
6 Current models of community archaeology practised in the United Kingdom.
6.1 This information about Dorset should be seen in a wider context of public engagement with archaeology in the United Kingdom. The term ‘community archaeology’ is widely used to refer to the participation of ‘non-professional’ archaeologists and volunteers in archaeological projects. The origins of the term lie in the development of archaeology as a professional discipline during the later 20th century. The professionalisation of the discipline led to it taking on the leading role previously played by many voluntary bodies, notably county archaeology societies, in the 19th and earlier 20th centuries.