What is Community Archaeology?

There are two very different ways in which archaeological research is carried out today in Britain.

The first is commercial archaeology: studies undertaken by professional archaeological units, employed to carry out work to inform decisions in the planning system. If development proposals would threaten archaeology, it is for the developer to show how they intend to minimise the threat.

The second is community archaeology, work carried out by volunteers, for the sheer love of doing archaeology and understanding their local patch better.

There are several models of how community archaeology can (and should) work, but in North Somerset, community archaeology is the process of helping local people to acquire the skills and techniques to record and understand the historic landscapes of their own area.

Local communities have a profound, but often unfocussed, need to understand their historic surroundings, for all sorts of reasons: identity, belonging, education and stewardship (in the widest sense of the word).

Modern archaeological fieldwork techniques, such as earthwork surveying, geophysical survey, field walking and so on, have the ability to help local people transform the understanding and enjoyment of their local scene. And they can be adopted and carried out by anyone who is fit enough to walk.

The process can take many forms, from a simple one-off visit to encourage a local school to take up the study of their village, to forming a full research team with an agenda for study and management of a landscape over several years. This is often an opportunity to engage other partners. Such partners in the community archaeology projects so far begun have included the Ministry of Defence, English Heritage and the Mendip Hills Wardens and AONB Service.

Why North Somerset?

The area has a long tradition of active archaeological societies and groups: the Weston-super-Mare Archaeological and Natural History Society dates back to the 19th century, and the Clevedon and Axbridge Archaeological Societies to the middle of the 20th. The Yatton, Congresbury and Nailsea and District History Societies have long and noble records of research, and younger groups, like the Langford Local History Society have exemplary publication records.

But most important of all, North Somerset has a fantastically well-preserved and important set of archaeological landscapes, from the ancient relict landscapes of Dolebury Warren and Walton Common, to the historic town centres of Portishead and Weston-super-Mare (each with their Roman and medieval predecessors surviving as archaeology) to the almost unknown archaeology surviving in North Somerset's old woodlands.

These are largely protected or unthreatened by development, and so will, ironically, never be studied in detail by commercial archaeological teams, who largely concentrate on planning-related archaeology.

So who provides this training?

Initially, staff of the North Somerset Archaeological Service at North Somerset Council provided this training, principally Vince Russett, the County Archaeologist, who is committed whole-heartedly to community archaeology. However, as teams have matured and become confident (and many have achieved university degrees through involvement in the process), increasingly, teams can help to train newer teams themselves.

Where are the current local community archaeology groups?

Charterhouse and area: CHERT (CHarterhouse Environs Research Team)

Lympsham: LAGS (Lympsham Archaeological Group)

Yatton, Congresbury and Cleeve: YCCCART (Yatton, Congresbury, Cleeve and Claverham Archaeological Research Team)

Nailsea, Wraxall and Tickenham: NEAT (Nailsea Environmental and Archaeological Team)

Clevedon: CLEAT (Clevedon and Environs Archaeological Team)

Backwell: BET (Backwell Environmental Team)

Langford and Churchill: LANCET (Langford and Churchill Environs Team)

Winscombe and Sandford: WASP (Winscombe and Sandford Project) with Mick Aston

Weston-super-Mare: WESMART (Weston-Super-Mare Archaeological Research Team)

Gatcombe: GERT (Gatcombe Envrions Research Team)

And work is underway to establish further teams in Portishead PADAG (Portishead and District Archaeological Group), Pill: WHAT (Watchhouse Hill Archaeological Team) and possibly Axbridge and Compton Bishop: ACBAR (Axbridge and Compton Bishop Archaeological Researchers)

How can I join a community archaeology team?

You can contact the teams directly through the e-mail addresses on this site, or through Vince Russett at archaeology@n-somerset.gov.uk

How can I start a new community archaeology project in my own area?

In the past, such schemes have arisen mainly through chance and personal connection. This is not very reliable, and anyway, you may not live near one of the above, or may wish to study your own area. Simply contact Vince Russett at archaeology@n-somerset.gov.uk, and ask about forming a new group. Community archaeology projects need:

People (about six is a minimum number)

Equipment (this is very cheap, and most can be hand-made or borrowed)

A regular meeting date and time

Meeting place for rainy days (pubs are (un)surprisingly popular!)

Projects (which will include building survey, geophysical survey, earthwork survey, boundary survey, documentary study and publication).

The most important thing is that you do not have to have any prior skills or knowledge to be in a team: the archaeologist in the team provides the (simple) training that is needed to understand and to record the historic sites and landscapes around you.

What are the outcomes from such a project?

Firstly, the satisfaction that comes from knowing your local area and helping to make a permanent record of the sites that are important to you in it. Promoting this involvement in their area by local people gives a sense of ownership, and by giving back the information gathered to the landowners, helps in the protection and stewardship of the land.

And the enjoyment of fresh air, (gentle) exercise and good companionship is an added bonus!