Journey into Community Archaeology
Ailsa Smith is a volunteer archaeologist and serves on the Scottish Strategy Archaeology Committee representing community and volunteer archaeology.
I retired a few years ago but just before I retired, I completed the two year evening class leading to a Certificate in Field Archaeology from Glasgow University. Since then, I have become very much involved in community archaeology. I took part in the Scotland’s Rock Art Project between 2017 and 2021. I volunteered with the Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP) heritage project and I also took part in Callander’s Landscape project. I volunteer on digs with Murray Cook, the Stirling Council’s Archaeologist, and on other digs open to volunteers. Each May I attend the Archaeology Scotland summer school. Last year it was held in Bute and this year it will be held in the Black Isle.
Archaeology Scotland was the first archaeological organisation I joined, but over the years I also became a member of ACFA (originally the Association of Certificated Field Archaeologists but since the demise of the certificate course is now open to all), Glasgow Archaeological Society, Renfrewshire Local History Forum, Scottish Community Heritage Alliance and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. I also co-founded the Clutha Archaeology Group in 2020 and am currently the chairperson.
Clutha conducted two small digs last summer. The first one was at the reported site of Eddlewood Castle. The site is situated on a promontory overlooking the Meikle Burn in Chatelherault Country Park. We found some pottery which has been identified as 14-15th century. I wrote an article on this for ‘Celebrating Archaeology in Scotland 2024’ and this was used as the basis for a press release. It got picked up by numerous online newspapers.
Our second dig was at our Avon Gorge promontory site, also in Chatelherault Country Park, where Archaeology Scotland’s Adopt-A-Monument team has run digs for us in 2021 and 2023. We extended the trench from 2023 to see if the paved surface continued. We found an edge, some possible hammerstones and a piece of pottery which has been identified as medieval.
At the Clyde Valley Archaeological Research Framework (CVARF) symposium in Glasgow in June 2024, I took part in a panel session and my husband gave a talk on Clutha’s study of promontory sites on the Clyde’s tributaries. We look forward to taking part in CVARF’s excavation of a Roman fortlet at Carnwath next year.
I have also been busy with ACFA. Over the last few years, I and several ACFA members have surveyed the field boundaries on Ben Hynish on Tiree. My husband and I have contributed a chapter on our work to a book which is currently at the proof stage and will be published later this year.
The other ACFA project I was involved in recently was to produce 3D models of the rock art in the Kelvingrove Museum and the Kelvin Hall stores. My husband and I worked with Jane Flint, the prehistoric curator at Glasgow Life Museums. The three of us wrote an article on this work for the February CVARF newsletter.
In April I attended the Rock Art Workshop at Faifley. This was a chance to meet up with old friends and take part in discussions on future research. Later in April I took part in the New Orbiston Community Archaeology Project run by Kieran Manchip of Archaeology Scotland. Orbiston ran from 1825 to 1828 and was a project like New Lanark. We recorded the remains of the manufactory and forge. Using an iPAD to construct a 3D model of the walls of the forge was the highlight!
In May I attended the Archaeological Research in Progress (ARP) 2025 Conference in Edinburgh and listened to some very interesting talks. Several attendees were from community archaeology groups.
In 2021, I joined the Scottish Strategic Archaeology Committee as the community archaeology member. Initially the meetings were held on Teams and I was glad when they started meeting in person so I could travel to Edinburgh to meet the rest of the committee. They have been very welcoming, and I have learnt a lot from them at the meetings and chatting to them over lunch.
I have helped to ensure a wider distribution among community archaeologists of the annual magazine ‘Celebrating Archaeology in Scotland’ and encouraged them to submit articles. I have also tried to get more attention paid to ensuring there is a legacy from large projects involving the community, such as Scotland’s Rock Art Project and the various landscape projects.