Bennachie Landscapes: Investigating Communities Past and Present at the Colony Site
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Aberdeen
Department Name: Archaeology
Abstract
Ongoing research at the Colony site, on the iconic hill of Bennachie in northeast Scotland, is bringing historic and contemporary communities closer together. A collaborative effort between the Bailies of Bennachie, a local community group, and the University of Aberdeen, is helping to shed light on the history of this 19th century farming community; a place locally celebrated for its crofter-colonists and their struggle with neighbouring landlords. The project has two interlinked objectives; the first is related to the history of the colony, while the second is related to the process of undertaking research in the context of community heritage initiatives.
Little is known about community relations among the 'common' people of 19th-century rural Scotland, and what is known tends to play on very generic stereotypes. As the Colony provides a fascinating window on local historical processes, our research will use archaeological and historical methods to go beyond the more clichéd understandings of this period. In this context our goals are to find out about community relationships within the settlement, focusing in particular on local hierarchies, social relationships, and local ways of thinking and working. The ruins of the settlement will be uncovered, surveyed and subjected to archaeological excavation and environmental analysis, and these findings will be fully contextualized in relation to period-related settlements in the broader landscape. In addition we will examine related historical records in order to provide complimentary evidence about the local character of life in the Colony and how it compared with settlements beyond.
Significantly, the project is about much more than historical inquiry; it also aims to provide insights into the process of creating knowledge about the past, specifically in the context of community heritage initiatives. We will track the means by which knowledge is produced in our archaeological and historical research through participant observation and through structured interviews with a broad range of community members. The object will be to learn more about how relationships created through doing heritage research affect the way that knowledge about the past is used in new settings. Ultimately our research seeks to provide inspiration and guidance to allow future projects, including ongoing work at Bennachie, to be more effective and to engage with community more fully.
The outcomes of the project will be felt in both academic and community circles. Peer reviewed publications will provide the results of our findings from both the historical and community learning elements of the project. Moreover, publically accessible publications, including a website, will provide community user groups with valuable information to facilitate like-minded projects well beyond the region. Finally, a major new exhibition on both strands of our research at the Bennachie Visitor Centre will provide an important new focus for heritage learning.
Little is known about community relations among the 'common' people of 19th-century rural Scotland, and what is known tends to play on very generic stereotypes. As the Colony provides a fascinating window on local historical processes, our research will use archaeological and historical methods to go beyond the more clichéd understandings of this period. In this context our goals are to find out about community relationships within the settlement, focusing in particular on local hierarchies, social relationships, and local ways of thinking and working. The ruins of the settlement will be uncovered, surveyed and subjected to archaeological excavation and environmental analysis, and these findings will be fully contextualized in relation to period-related settlements in the broader landscape. In addition we will examine related historical records in order to provide complimentary evidence about the local character of life in the Colony and how it compared with settlements beyond.
Significantly, the project is about much more than historical inquiry; it also aims to provide insights into the process of creating knowledge about the past, specifically in the context of community heritage initiatives. We will track the means by which knowledge is produced in our archaeological and historical research through participant observation and through structured interviews with a broad range of community members. The object will be to learn more about how relationships created through doing heritage research affect the way that knowledge about the past is used in new settings. Ultimately our research seeks to provide inspiration and guidance to allow future projects, including ongoing work at Bennachie, to be more effective and to engage with community more fully.
The outcomes of the project will be felt in both academic and community circles. Peer reviewed publications will provide the results of our findings from both the historical and community learning elements of the project. Moreover, publically accessible publications, including a website, will provide community user groups with valuable information to facilitate like-minded projects well beyond the region. Finally, a major new exhibition on both strands of our research at the Bennachie Visitor Centre will provide an important new focus for heritage learning.
Planned Impact
This project will provide significant direct and indirect impacts on a variety of groups, including community participants, other community heritage projects, institutions that support and encourage community-based activities and the wider public. At a basic level, the project builds on links between the university and a community group, the Bailies of Bennachie, who have an important non-governmental stewardship role in a nationally-significant landscape in northeast Scotland. It will extend these relationships through facilitating further opportunities for inclusive participation in landscape research, management and appreciation, all key aims of the European Landscape Convention (ELC 2007).
In a wider context, through our reflexive work on the creation of co-produced research at the Bennachie Colony, our collaborative efforts will provide concrete methodologies for best practice within the context of creating a more sustainable community heritage initiative at Bennachie. At a broader scale, the outcomes of this project will feed into academic and non-technical publications, which will provide models for community heritage projects elsewhere.
A core element of impact will be skills training to build capacity amongst the community in techniques for heritage research,including participation from younger generation. One of the key groups that will be affected by our work will be those working within the education sector, specifically teachers. Schools-based activities on Bennachie will not only provide pupils and teachers with opportunities to get involved in different aspects of archaeological and historical research, but will also provide a means for assessing how knowledge is produced in these contexts and how it can be used in other settings. It will make clear distinctions, for example, in the relationship between formal and informal learning in a schools environment (Curtis 2007). Significantly, it will have direct implications for teachers working with the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence.
The project will also lead to a much greater understanding of the heritage of one of Northeast Scotland's most visited landscapes; a place where heritage plays a major role in its perception and enjoyment. Wide dissemination of the project results will be encouraged by regular press releases on the progress of the project (along with advertised opportunities to encourage involvement through local and national media); all strategies that were used to good effect in Phase 1 of the project. Information will also be made widely accessible on the University and project website. All of these activities will promote public understanding and appreciation of the past.
Finally, the project results will also feed into the resources available at the Bennachie Centre, a visitor resource visited by over 30,000 people a year. The project will culminate in a co-produced exhibition at the Bennachie Centre that will showcase the project results. The exhibition will be advertised in the press and on the project website and blog. As a semi-permanent display, it will provide educational resources well beyond the life of the project. Additional modes of dissemination will target specific users linked to the undertaking of community heritage projects. Here outputs will include detailed, accessible resources on the project website. These will provide the project with a long-term digital legacy, which will ensure that our results are available globally. Furthermore technical and non-technical publication will be distributed to the organisations mentioned above for consideration at regional and national levels.
Curtis, E., 2007. Finding the Curriculum in the Environment: Fieldwork approaches to student learning in Initial teacher Education. International Journal of Learning 14(5): 179-189
European Landscape Convention 2007. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/heritage/landscape/default_en.asp
In a wider context, through our reflexive work on the creation of co-produced research at the Bennachie Colony, our collaborative efforts will provide concrete methodologies for best practice within the context of creating a more sustainable community heritage initiative at Bennachie. At a broader scale, the outcomes of this project will feed into academic and non-technical publications, which will provide models for community heritage projects elsewhere.
A core element of impact will be skills training to build capacity amongst the community in techniques for heritage research,including participation from younger generation. One of the key groups that will be affected by our work will be those working within the education sector, specifically teachers. Schools-based activities on Bennachie will not only provide pupils and teachers with opportunities to get involved in different aspects of archaeological and historical research, but will also provide a means for assessing how knowledge is produced in these contexts and how it can be used in other settings. It will make clear distinctions, for example, in the relationship between formal and informal learning in a schools environment (Curtis 2007). Significantly, it will have direct implications for teachers working with the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence.
The project will also lead to a much greater understanding of the heritage of one of Northeast Scotland's most visited landscapes; a place where heritage plays a major role in its perception and enjoyment. Wide dissemination of the project results will be encouraged by regular press releases on the progress of the project (along with advertised opportunities to encourage involvement through local and national media); all strategies that were used to good effect in Phase 1 of the project. Information will also be made widely accessible on the University and project website. All of these activities will promote public understanding and appreciation of the past.
Finally, the project results will also feed into the resources available at the Bennachie Centre, a visitor resource visited by over 30,000 people a year. The project will culminate in a co-produced exhibition at the Bennachie Centre that will showcase the project results. The exhibition will be advertised in the press and on the project website and blog. As a semi-permanent display, it will provide educational resources well beyond the life of the project. Additional modes of dissemination will target specific users linked to the undertaking of community heritage projects. Here outputs will include detailed, accessible resources on the project website. These will provide the project with a long-term digital legacy, which will ensure that our results are available globally. Furthermore technical and non-technical publication will be distributed to the organisations mentioned above for consideration at regional and national levels.
Curtis, E., 2007. Finding the Curriculum in the Environment: Fieldwork approaches to student learning in Initial teacher Education. International Journal of Learning 14(5): 179-189
European Landscape Convention 2007. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/heritage/landscape/default_en.asp
Publications
Oliver J
(2021)
Exploring co-production in community heritage research: Reflections from the Bennachie Landscapes Project
in Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage
Vergusnt, J.
(2019)
Heritage as Community Research
Milek K
(2018)
Transdisciplinary Archaeology and the Future of Archaeological Practice: Citizen Science, Portable Science, Ethical Science
in Norwegian Archaeological Review
Oliver, J.
(2016)
The Bennachie Colony: A Nineteenth-Century Informal Community in Northeast Scotland
in International Journal of Historical Archaeology
Miller C
(2015)
Bennachie, the 'Colony', Balquhain and Fetternear - Some Archival Sources
in Northern Scotland
Armstrong, J.
(2015)
Bringing Archives and Archaeology Together: community research at the Bennachie Colony
in Scottish Archives
Oliver, Jeff
(2014)
Tales of eviction and the archaeology of the Colony: The Bennachie Landscapes Project
in History Scotland
Kennedy, Alison
(2014)
Bennachie Landscapes Project
in Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society Journal
Ledingham, Ken
(2014)
An Aberdeenshire Estate Rental Book: the estates of Leslie of Balquhain, 1875-84
in Scottish Local History
Foster, Christine
(2014)
Researching the Lost Community of a Hill
in Leopard
Title | Colony Site Exhibitions |
Description | The exhibition consists of 6 interpretive pop-up panels and an artefact display case. The panels contain images and text co-produced by the Bailies of Bennachie with the University of Aberdeen and tell the story of our archaeologiclal and historical investigation of the Colony Site. The exhibition has been on display at a number of locations throughout Aberdeenshire between April and October of 2014. This includes the following locations: Bennachie Centre, Kemnay Church Center, Kemnay Academy, Kemnay Library, Inveruire Garden Centre, Gordon House (Inverurie), Woodhill House (Aberdeen), Touched by Scotland (Oyne). |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2014 |
Impact | We estimate the display has been viewed by hundreds (if not thousands) of people and hope it has given them some additional insights about the history of their community and the role that community participation can make in researching and presenting it. |
Description | We have learned about the complex history of the Colony site as revealed through publications. We have also learned about working collaboratively with each other - between the University and our community colleagues, the Bailies of Bennachie. The outcomes of the project include a much stronger relationship between academics and community members, which is built on trust, respect and mutual interest. |
Exploitation Route | The community outreach elements of our project will be useful for others involved in engaging community groups. |
Sectors | Creative Economy Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
URL | http://www.bailiesofbennachie.co.uk/bennachie-landscapes/ |
Description | To stimulate understanding, learning and appreciation of the historical resource. To enable education and uptake of new skills - both research skills and interpersonal skills. |
First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
Sector | Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
Description | Bennachie: understand stones, hear the stories and re-live the past - Heritage Lottery Fund Grant |
Organisation | Bailies of Bennachie |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Advising with other academic colleague on the next phase of the Bennachie Landscapes Project, which is being realized through a Heritage Lottery Fund grant authored by our community collaborators the Bailies of Bennachie. |
Collaborator Contribution | Participating in project meetings to create a series of new events and outputs at the Colony, this includes a new heritage app, a reconstruction of a 19th century kailyard and a dramatic performance. |
Impact | Project meetings. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Academic paper (Scottish Records Association) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The PI with Colin Miller, one of our community collaborators, give a talk on the contribution of archives and archaeology to the overall success of the project. The audience, which comprised archivists and historians, were impressed by our collaborate approach and asked questions about how their own research might engage with community involvement. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.scottishrecordsassociation.org/images/conference/SRAConferenceBrochure2014.pdf |
Description | Archaeological Fieldwork |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Members of the Bailies of Bennachie and the University of Aberdeen undertook a number of archaeological fieldwork activities between April and July. This included five weekend events and one two-week set-piece archaeological excavation. Numbers at these events varied. Weekend events attracted between 6-12 Bailies, while the excavation attracted around 30 people. Our community collaborators learned archaeological fieldwork skills. The experiences have given a number of collaborators confidence to undertake their own research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.bailiesofbennachie.co.uk/bennachie-landscapes/ |
Description | Archaeological Fieldwork with Schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Archaeological fieldwork at Bennachie was carried on two occasions with 15 local pupils from Kemnay Academy. New skills were learnt and the activity sparked many questions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Archaeological post-excavation workshops |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Post-excavation workshops were held at the Bennachie Centre, where volunteers helped to catalogue and analyse artefacts recovered from fieldwork. Four events were held between March of 2013 and October 2014. Participants learned new skills. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014 |
URL | http://www.bailiesofbennachie.co.uk/bennachie-landscapes/ |
Description | Archives events (Aberdeen) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | A series of special collections visits (19th March, 26 March, 28th May, 13 June) by our community historical researchers aimed at identify historical sources of interest to the project. The project archives assistant was there to help community members negotiate the holdings and identify sources. New skills around archival practice. These events have helped to give our community workers confidence working with historic documents and they now regularly return to the archives to further their research. As reported elsewhere, much of the information taken from the archives has been incorporated in project and project-related publications. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Bennachie Landscapes Project: Investigations at the Colony - Part of event titled 'What's gaun on' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This workshop was a forum for community heritage groups to share project achievements and raise awareness about skills sharing. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Bennachie, exploring its archaeology |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 24 adult members of the public attended a guided walk to the Colony site led by Dr Jeff Oliver. The visit resulted in a great deal of interest and questions. About half of the participants requested a copy of the research paper we published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, which describes the results of the research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.abdn.ac.uk/engage/public/festival-of-social-science-205.php |
Description | Community archaeology seminar (Aberdeen) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A particularly significant aspect of the seminar was the contribution of community researchers. The diverse audience of undergraduates, postgraduates and staff along with professionals and other members of the public were treated to moving presentations on the challenges and benefits of linking communities and academic researchers. Notable mentions included presentations offered by members of the indigenous communities of Hokkaido (Ainu) and Alaska (Yupik), along with community researchers and artists from rural Aberdeenshire (the Bailies of Bennachie and Rhynie Woman). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Historical Archaeology and the Bennachie Colony |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Around 30 members of the public attended a public talk on the results of the community archaeology project at the Bennachie Colony. The talk encouraged many questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Public Talk (Bennachie Centre) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The PI give a talk about the history of the Colony site and the project's discoveries. People asked questions. A reporter from the Inverurie Advertiser asked questions and wrote an article about the talk, which was subsequently published. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Public Talk (Cults) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The PI gave a talk on the ongoing archaeological and historical research at the Colony Site. People asked questions. They learned something new about local history. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Public Talk (Inverurie) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The PI, with members of the Bailies of Bennachie, gave a talk about our research at the Colony Site to the Garrioch Heritage Society. The talk stimulated questions about the history of the site. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Public Talk (Inverurie) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The PI and research assistant give a talk about ongoing archaeological and historical research at the Colony Site. People asked questions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Public Talk (University of Aberdeen) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The PI gave a talk about ongoing archaeological and historical research at the Colony Site. People asked questions. They learned something new about local history. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Public Talk (University of Manchester) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The PI gave a talk about initial research and future plans in regards to the history and archaeology of the Colony Site at Bennachie, Aberdeenshire. Audience asked questions and were interested in knowing more about the challenges of working with community groups. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Public Talk on Colony Artefacts (Bennachie Centre) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 10 people attended a talk presented by Graeme Cruikshank, one of Scotland's foremost scholars on 19th century ceramics. Participants learned important skills in ceramic identification. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Public talk (Alford Heritage Group, Alford) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk given by members of the Bailies of Bennachie on the Bennachie Colony archaeology and archival research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Public talk (Cafe Conversation, Inverurie) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public talk outlined the archaeological and historical research undertaken at the Colony and specifically reflected on the topic of coproduction. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Public talk (Special Collections, University of Aberdeen) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Collaborative public talk involving members of the Bailies of Bennache, which outlined the archaeological and historical research undertaken at the Colony and specifically reflected on the topic of coproduction. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Publications by community collaborators 2013-2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Individual members of our community collaborators, the Bailies of Bennachie, were encouraged to undertake their own research and to publish their finding in local history journals and magazines. The publications are listed in the 'publications' section of Researchfish. Impacts include bringing participants into the research process. The publications will hopefully be read by interested local readings, in turn informing and stimulating their own ideas. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014 |
Description | Shovel test pitting event at Bennachie - part of Liz Curtis' Follow on funding |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This event was a demonstration of some of our community member's archaeological skills for the benefit of the general public. One of the crofts at the Bennachie colony was surveyed and test pits excavated. A number of tours led by the Bailies took visiting members of the public around the excavations and showed them some of the artefact finds. This was part of a larger outreach event on the hillside led by Liz Curtis. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |