Over the last few years, Archaeology Scotland has been working hard on its New Audiences project with funding from Historic Environment Scotland.
The central focus of this project is to open-up archaeology to marginalised and displaced people, including people who have been isolated by the pandemic and people who have recently made Scotland their home.
The project’s starting point has been excavations at the site of the original Hampden football stadium (1873-1883) on the southside of Glasgow. Tied into First Hampden are remarkable diverse histories.
We will expand on this initiative over the next three years, ensuring archaeology is accessible to all.
We will be continuing our Digi Tay funded New Audience project ‘Recording Balgay Park: Digital Skills and Archaeology” with a group of women learners from a local English Language class. Another project involves recording Balgay Park through digital methods and researching and analysing the growth, history and development of this beautiful greenspace in Dundee.
In summer we will be running some New Audience taster sessions in Glasgow.
Find out more about the project in this blog post written by our volunteer Sehar Mehmood.
The DigiTay Project
The DigiTay project brought together a group of women from BAME, refugee, and asylum seeker backgrounds to explore Dundee’s historic Balgay Park through digital skills and archaeology. Led by Archaeology Scotland in partnership with Amina Ohkai (Finding You With Amy), the project aimed to enhance digital skills, support English language learning, and promote social inclusion. Over several months, participants developed skills in digital data collection, photography, 3D scanning, and database management, applying them to survey Victorian-era features of the park. The project fostered cultural integration, community building, and increased confidence.
Participants engaged in hands-on sessions in Balgay Park, using tools like Power BI for data visualisation and Canva for digital storytelling. They also had the chance to visit active archaeological digs, enriching their understanding of Scotland’s heritage. Reflecting on the experience, participants noted: “I learned a lot about history of Balgay Park. I discovered a lot of new interesting facts about park. Learn- collect informations details , measuring, scanning. A lot of new words.”
“Firstly I love being outdoors and secondly knowing how the park come about changes my whole experience of going to the parks. I’ll always look with a searching eye.”
Each participant of the project also received a Silver Heritage Hero Award, recognising their achievements and newly acquired skills.
A huge thank you to the funders of this project:
