|
Bu Sands Archaeological Archive |
|
|
|
Friday, 27 August 2004 |
|
|
The project aimed to examine, sort and interpret the large collection of prehistoric and medieval material found on Orkney and and making it available as a teaching and handling collection for use by schools and community groups.
Overview
PROJECT SUMMARY
Orkney has a large collection of prehistoric and medieval animal bone, pottery and other general artefacts, which were salvaged by an amateur archaeologist from an unscheduled late Iron Age/Medieval site at the sand quarry at the Bu Sands in Burray. This site was completely removed. This material lay unsorted, uninterrupted and not available to the general public for around 14 years.
The project aimed to examine, sort and interpret this material, obtaining any archaeological information it may have, and making it available as a teaching and handling collection for use by schools and community groups. The Orkney Heritage Education Officer and the Cultural Co-ordinator (Heritage) developed the project and continue to use the objective and interpretative material, as an integrated part of the School Loans Handling Collection. It will also be used with wider community groups. The Orkney Archaeological Trust provided advice during the project and will also draw on the resulting resources into the future.
The site has been completely removed by the quarrying operation, and all that remains is the archaeological assemblage. This project allowed archaeologists to interpret the remains for the settlement and assemble them into a useful and valuable community resource, making the archaeological record accessible to the wider public.
KEY PARTNERS
Orkney Heritage Museum.
Archaeologists and volunteers from Orkney.
FUNDERS
Forward Scotland (CERS): £5,622
In-kind contributions from Orkney Museum: £4,425
Plan
NEED
This project aimed to mitigate the loss of the archaeological site at Bu Sands by extracting all possible information from the assemblage and making it available to the local community. Otherwise the collection would have remained entirely redundant.
PURPOSE
The work preserves the artefacts found during excavations at the historic site before it was destroyed by quarrying. This project allowed the material to be examined and the information interpreted to allow the archaeologist to develop an understanding of the site and produce information which will raise people's awareness of the site and its significance.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The main aims and objectives of the project were to:
- define the archaeological material recovered from the Bu Sands;
- make that material into a useful and accessible reference and handling collection, and to create supporting interpretative material;
- organise a community event using that material;
- integrate the material into Orkney Heritage loans and handling collection; and
- promote the use of the material by community groups and by schools.
Progress
GETTING ESTABLISHED
The key milestones in the project development were as follows:
- The artefacts were collected from Bu Sands in 1990 by amateur archaeologists; Orkney Museum then stored the some 1,500 objects in the hope that an opportunity would arise to make use of them;
- Mention of the Forward Scotland CERS grant on Orkney Radio acted as a catalyst for the project conception;
- The Forward Scotland grant enabled the temporary recruitment of one person onto the project, assisted by 6 regular volunteers with botanical, bone and pottery specialisms;
- All the finds were catalogued; these are predominately bones, but also include pottery, stone tools and iron smelting debris;
- A public event was organised in Burray to highlight the collection.
IMPLEMENTATION
During the cataloguing phase, the bones were examined to identify species and body parts represented, ascertain condition and to find any evidence of butchery marks and bone working.
Some interesting finds were made, most notably the 'Little Pict', a two inch carving of a man on cattle bone. A description of this discovery can be found at http://www.orkneydigs.org.uk/dhl/papers/dl/index.html
The main original objectives have been achieved, with a community event being held at the end of April 2004 to allow children and adults to explore the exhibit. Activities will include bone handling and drawings of Picts. Around 100-250 people are expected to attend, based on previous similar events.
FUTURE STEPS
The material will now be available for community groups and schools. Often schools use the material as part of a larger project exploring a specific theme.
One further stage would be to mark the exhibits, to make resorting easier after the handling sessions. Extra funding/resources must be sought for this.
Review
THE PROCESS
The community has been involved in the project, in the form of volunteers undertaking the cataloguing work, community based events to highlight the collection, and siting the display in Burray so that all local people have an opportunity to learn more about their local history.
This project has been possible with a relatively low sum of money to employ a dedicated resource, together with the expertise of local volunteers.
THE OUTCOMES
The success of this project is the achievement of utilising material which had been redundant due to lack of resources, and making it into an interesting and informative collection which can be handled by local people. The work provides a long-term resource for the community.
THE LESSONS
Advice for other projects:
- Keep it simple;
- Set clear goals and objectives; and
- Try to achieve something sustainable, which can give benefits in the long-term.
|
Communities 