Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeology, Legend and Public Engagement
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Reading
Department Name: Archaeology
Abstract
This project follows-on from 'The Glastonbury Abbey Archaeological Archive Project' (University of Reading/ Glastonbury Abbey, 2009-13). AHRC funding enabled the full analysis of previously unpublished excavations at this site of international historical importance. Glastonbury Abbey was renowned in the middle ages as the reputed burial place of the legendary King Arthur and the site of the earliest Christian church in Britain, believed to have been founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the first century. It became a major pilgrimage centre and was the second richest monastery in England at the Dissolution. Today, Glastonbury Abbey is a heritage centre and museum that draws a large range of visitors including tourists, educational groups and spiritual seekers of diverse beliefs.
From 1904 to 1979, 36 seasons of excavations took place at the Abbey but the results were never published. Critical study of the archive of antiquarian excavations and the archaeological collections has unlocked new evidence for the scale and significance of the Anglo-Saxon monastery and the medieval Abbey. The outputs of the original research project are aimed at the academic audience, including a monograph in press with the Society of Antiquaries and an online database archived with the Archaeology Data Service. The Follow-on project will make the results of the research available to new audiences, including visitors to Glastonbury Abbey (numbering approximately 100,000 per annum), the local community of Glastonbury and the wider public.
Partnership between the University of Reading and the Trustees of Glastonbury Abbey will enable the charity to improve the quality of site interpretation and education offered to visitors. Interpretation of the ruins and museum collections will be informed by new academic research and presented in more creative and accessible formats including digital reconstructions. The approach is particularly novel in using archaeological evidence to explore the local legends of King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea. These stories have been connected with Glastonbury for nearly a thousand years: they have both popular appeal and spiritual value to groups including the Church of England, the Catholic Church and the New Age 'Community of Avalon'.
Visitor experience will be enriched by the development of digital reconstructions and an interactive map that will enhance understanding of spatial layout, chronological development and archaeological evidence. The reconstructions will present challenging evidence in an accessible way that will appeal particularly to younger visitors, through iPad tours delivered by a Living History team, and family packs and trails. For the first time, an official guidebook will present a summary of the most recent research on Glastonbury, available in 5 languages to meet the needs of international visitors. There will be greater variety of visitor experience and new opportunities to engage with evidence at different levels of detail in a layered approach to interpretation. A launch event will inform the local community; social media and a popular magazine article will inform the remote public of new research findings.
The educational value of school visits will be enhanced by improving the quality of learning resources and introducing a critical perspective to evidence. Teachers will benefit from the development of accessible resources and lesson plans for the study of Glastonbury Abbey that map directly on to the new curricula for Key Stages 1-3.
The project will deliver sustainable resources that will continue to enrich the experience of visitors to Glastonbury Abbey beyond the life of the project. Knowledge Transfer workshops will enhance the effectiveness of the resources and the quality of their implementation. Workshops with educational and spiritual stakeholders will inform future development at Glastonbury Abbey, including a planned HLF bid for a new museum and learning centre.
From 1904 to 1979, 36 seasons of excavations took place at the Abbey but the results were never published. Critical study of the archive of antiquarian excavations and the archaeological collections has unlocked new evidence for the scale and significance of the Anglo-Saxon monastery and the medieval Abbey. The outputs of the original research project are aimed at the academic audience, including a monograph in press with the Society of Antiquaries and an online database archived with the Archaeology Data Service. The Follow-on project will make the results of the research available to new audiences, including visitors to Glastonbury Abbey (numbering approximately 100,000 per annum), the local community of Glastonbury and the wider public.
Partnership between the University of Reading and the Trustees of Glastonbury Abbey will enable the charity to improve the quality of site interpretation and education offered to visitors. Interpretation of the ruins and museum collections will be informed by new academic research and presented in more creative and accessible formats including digital reconstructions. The approach is particularly novel in using archaeological evidence to explore the local legends of King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea. These stories have been connected with Glastonbury for nearly a thousand years: they have both popular appeal and spiritual value to groups including the Church of England, the Catholic Church and the New Age 'Community of Avalon'.
Visitor experience will be enriched by the development of digital reconstructions and an interactive map that will enhance understanding of spatial layout, chronological development and archaeological evidence. The reconstructions will present challenging evidence in an accessible way that will appeal particularly to younger visitors, through iPad tours delivered by a Living History team, and family packs and trails. For the first time, an official guidebook will present a summary of the most recent research on Glastonbury, available in 5 languages to meet the needs of international visitors. There will be greater variety of visitor experience and new opportunities to engage with evidence at different levels of detail in a layered approach to interpretation. A launch event will inform the local community; social media and a popular magazine article will inform the remote public of new research findings.
The educational value of school visits will be enhanced by improving the quality of learning resources and introducing a critical perspective to evidence. Teachers will benefit from the development of accessible resources and lesson plans for the study of Glastonbury Abbey that map directly on to the new curricula for Key Stages 1-3.
The project will deliver sustainable resources that will continue to enrich the experience of visitors to Glastonbury Abbey beyond the life of the project. Knowledge Transfer workshops will enhance the effectiveness of the resources and the quality of their implementation. Workshops with educational and spiritual stakeholders will inform future development at Glastonbury Abbey, including a planned HLF bid for a new museum and learning centre.
Planned Impact
The main beneficiaries are:
1) the trustees, staff and volunteers of Glastonbury Abbey, which is a charity responsible for preserving the fabric of the ruins and grounds for
public benefit and education and to advance religion in accordance with the doctrines of the Church of England;
2) visitors to the heritage site and museum of Glastonbury Abbey, numbering approximately 100,000 people per annum (UK and international);
3) teachers and educational visitors, comprising circa 10,000 visitors per annum from schools (including over 6,000 international visitors);
4) a diverse group of spiritual stakeholders who identify with Glastonbury Abbey, including the Church of England, the Catholic Church, and
Glastonbury's 'Community of Avalon', a range of spiritual seekers following Paganism, Goddess worship, and a variety of other paths;
5) the local community of Glastonbury and the wider public (national and international) interested in the history and archaeology of Glastonbury Abbey.
The trustees, staff and volunteers of Glastonbury Abbey will be assisted in meeting their charitable objectives by improving the quality of site interpretation and education offered to visitors. Interpretation of the ruins and museum collections will be informed by new academic research and presented in more creative and accessible formats including digital reconstructions. Through partnership working and knowledge transfer, the Education and Living History teams will improve the quality of educational materials and interpretation offered to visitors, making use of object handling sessions and iPad tours. The quality of educational resources will be sustained beyond the life of the project through the development of templates for education packs for schools and families. Revenue will be generated for the charity through the sale of guidebooks and family packs, and by the potential increase in number of schools visits and return visits prompted by improved interpretation and direct engagement with the new national curriculum. Workshops with educational and spiritual stakeholders will inform future development at the Abbey, including a proposed HLF bid for a new museum and learning centre.
Visitors to the Abbey will benefit from the development of digital reconstructions and an interactive map that will enhance their understanding of spatial layout, historical development, archaeological evidence and its relationship to Glastonbury's legends. The reconstructions will present challenging evidence in an innovative way that will appeal to all age groups, particularly younger visitors. There will be greater variety of visitor experience and new opportunities to engage with evidence at different levels of detail in a layered approach, ranging from iPad tours, family packs and trails to a guidebook for independent adult learners (in 5 languages).
Teachers will benefit from the development of accessible resources and lesson plans for the study of Glastonbury Abbey that map directly onto the new curricula for Key Stages 1-3.The educational value of school visits will be enhanced by quality resources that introduce a critical perspective to historical and archaeological evidence and which include object handling sessions.
Spiritual stakeholders will benefit from novel interpretations that engage archaeological evidence with Glastonbury's spiritual stories around King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea. Multi-vocal perspectives will be explored through stakeholder workshops that will inform future interpretation and policy on the spiritual use of the site for multiple faiths.
The local community of Glastonbury will benefit from a launch event in Glastonbury Town Hall that will feature a public lecture and pop-up exhibition. The wider (remote) public will benefit from dissemination of the research through a popular publication, social media and educational web resources including lesson plans and packs to download.
1) the trustees, staff and volunteers of Glastonbury Abbey, which is a charity responsible for preserving the fabric of the ruins and grounds for
public benefit and education and to advance religion in accordance with the doctrines of the Church of England;
2) visitors to the heritage site and museum of Glastonbury Abbey, numbering approximately 100,000 people per annum (UK and international);
3) teachers and educational visitors, comprising circa 10,000 visitors per annum from schools (including over 6,000 international visitors);
4) a diverse group of spiritual stakeholders who identify with Glastonbury Abbey, including the Church of England, the Catholic Church, and
Glastonbury's 'Community of Avalon', a range of spiritual seekers following Paganism, Goddess worship, and a variety of other paths;
5) the local community of Glastonbury and the wider public (national and international) interested in the history and archaeology of Glastonbury Abbey.
The trustees, staff and volunteers of Glastonbury Abbey will be assisted in meeting their charitable objectives by improving the quality of site interpretation and education offered to visitors. Interpretation of the ruins and museum collections will be informed by new academic research and presented in more creative and accessible formats including digital reconstructions. Through partnership working and knowledge transfer, the Education and Living History teams will improve the quality of educational materials and interpretation offered to visitors, making use of object handling sessions and iPad tours. The quality of educational resources will be sustained beyond the life of the project through the development of templates for education packs for schools and families. Revenue will be generated for the charity through the sale of guidebooks and family packs, and by the potential increase in number of schools visits and return visits prompted by improved interpretation and direct engagement with the new national curriculum. Workshops with educational and spiritual stakeholders will inform future development at the Abbey, including a proposed HLF bid for a new museum and learning centre.
Visitors to the Abbey will benefit from the development of digital reconstructions and an interactive map that will enhance their understanding of spatial layout, historical development, archaeological evidence and its relationship to Glastonbury's legends. The reconstructions will present challenging evidence in an innovative way that will appeal to all age groups, particularly younger visitors. There will be greater variety of visitor experience and new opportunities to engage with evidence at different levels of detail in a layered approach, ranging from iPad tours, family packs and trails to a guidebook for independent adult learners (in 5 languages).
Teachers will benefit from the development of accessible resources and lesson plans for the study of Glastonbury Abbey that map directly onto the new curricula for Key Stages 1-3.The educational value of school visits will be enhanced by quality resources that introduce a critical perspective to historical and archaeological evidence and which include object handling sessions.
Spiritual stakeholders will benefit from novel interpretations that engage archaeological evidence with Glastonbury's spiritual stories around King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea. Multi-vocal perspectives will be explored through stakeholder workshops that will inform future interpretation and policy on the spiritual use of the site for multiple faiths.
The local community of Glastonbury will benefit from a launch event in Glastonbury Town Hall that will feature a public lecture and pop-up exhibition. The wider (remote) public will benefit from dissemination of the research through a popular publication, social media and educational web resources including lesson plans and packs to download.
Publications
Gilchrist R
(2019)
Sacred Heritage - Monastic Archaeology, Identities, Beliefs
Gilchrist, R
(2016)
Glastonbury Abbey: the Archaeological Story
Gilchrist, R
(2017)
Glastonbury Abbey Guide Book
| Title | Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeology and Legend |
| Description | A digital interactive was developed for use at Glastonbury Abbey Museum (100,000 visitors per annum). Visitors select information and themes depending on their interest, based on animated reconstructions of the Saxon churches, the Norman cloister, the Abbot's complex, the Lady Chapel and Arthur's tomb. Each theme has six layers of information with multiple options for navigation. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Impact | The interactive was launched in autumn 2016 and evaluation of impact on staff and visitors will be undertaken in summer 2017. |
| Description | Glastonbury Abbey is internationally renowned as the site of the earliest church in England and the legendary burial place of King Arthur. The heritage site receives over 100,000 visitors every year and is owned and managed by a charitable trust. 36 seasons of archaeological excavations took place at Glastonbury Abbey (GA) between 1904 and 1979 but the results were never published. This had impacted negatively on the Abbey for decades, affecting the quality of interpretation and delaying the development of new visitor facilities. The original research project reassessed the full archaeological archive and museum collections of GA to address key research questions and to make the archive accessible to the public through an open access digital resource (Gilchrist and Green 2015). The FoF project has made the results of this research accessible to new audiences - visitors to GA and students and teachers who participate in the Abbey's educational programme. A suite of new resources has been created to make the research more relevant to these audiences and to enhance their historical understanding of the site. Digital reconstructions based on the original research will improve visitors' spatial and chronological understanding and connect the archaeology to Glastonbury's legends and spiritual beliefs. - Interactive map and touch screen resource in GA Museum - Digital resources to support tablet tours by GA Living History team - Educational resources for schools and families for GA Education Team - Guidebook of Glastonbury Abbey - Popular article published in Current Archaeology Oct 2016 and made available Open Access on GA website In March 2018, these resources were made available to the general public through a new website: www.glastonburyabbeyarchaeology.org In addition, a series of knowledge transfer workshops were held to bring the staff of Glastonbury Abbey together with a range of museum professionals, leading to innovations such as object handling collections. Stakeholder workshops were held with teachers and spiritual stakeholders, leading to new opportunities for educational delivery, including a study week at Glastonbury Abbey for Somerset Schools studying OCR History. The Abbey has agreed to host an OCR study week in May 2017, for 240 students from 3 schools, over 4 days. |
| Exploitation Route | This research has already impacted on policy and practice at Glastonbury Abbey relating to interpretation, education and care of collections. The Abbey applied successfully to Arts Council England for funding to develop an object handling collection, after a successful knowledge transfer workshop was delivered by the project. The research has also influenced the Abbey's long-term planning for a major redevelopment of visitor facilities and redesign of site layout. The project findings fed directly into a major application by Glastonbury Abbey to the Heritage Lottery Fund (Feb 2018). In 2019, the PI collaborated with Glastonbury Abbey and Architectural Thread (Creative Industry SME) in a project funded by Higher Education Innovation Funding (Innovation in Immersive Heritage Interpretation: Glastonbury Abbey). |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://www.glastonburyabbeyarchaeology.org |
| Description | The FoF has developed new interpretive and educational resources, co-created with Glastonbury Abbey and responding directly to the needs of stakeholders and end-users. - Interactive map and touch screen resource in GA Museum - Digital resources to support tablet tours by GA Living History team - Educational resources for schools and families for GA Education Team - Guidebook of Glastonbury Abbey - Popular article published in Current Archaeology Oct 2016 and made available Open Access on GA website In March 2018, a new website was launched to share the results of this research with the general public: www.glastonburyabbeyarchaeology.org This research has already impacted on policy and practice at GA relating to interpretation, education and care of collections. It has also influenced the planning of a major Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Application by Glastonbury Abbey, submitted in February 2018. These new resources have potential economic impact and will also bring the research to new audiences - visitors to GA and students and teachers who participate in the Abbey's educational programme. They will make the research more relevant to these audiences and enhance their historical understanding of the site. Digital reconstructions based on the original research will improve spatial and chronological understanding and connect the archaeology to Glastonbury's legends and spiritual beliefs. The research has potential to further impact on spiritual stakeholders who believe that an early Celtic church existed on the site: for the first time, there is significant archaeological evidence that Glastonbury was occupied in the 5th-6th century, before the foundation of the Anglo-Saxon monastery. There is potential to develop future impact on heritage professionals locally, nationally and internationally, through knowledge exchange on the interpretation of monastic sites to the public. In 2020, the PI published an OA book that includes critical reflection of issues of multi-vocality in relation to the digital reconstructions and their reception by spiritual stakeholders at Glastonbury Abbey (Sacred Heritage: Monastic Archaeology, Identities, Beliefs). The site of Glastonbury Abbey has remained open to the public for much of 2020-21, during Covid restrictions, although the museum has been closed for some periods. The Abbey has been unable to deliver its range of Living History tours to the public and interpretation has relied substantially on the guidebook that was produced by the project, in addition to five interpretion panels that feature the digital reconstructions. The only digital resources available to remote audiences throughout this period has been the website resulting from the project. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Economic |
| Description | Follow on Funding for Impact and Engagement |
| Amount | £79,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2015 |
| End | 10/2016 |
| Description | GLASTONBURY ABBEY: STORYTELLING THROUGH IMMERSIVE HERITAGE PRACTICE |
| Amount | £80,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/W002787/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2022 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | University of Reading 'Building Oustanding Impact Project' |
| Amount | £4,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Reading |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2017 |
| End | 10/2019 |
| Description | University of Reading 'Undergraduate Research Opportunity' scheme. This is funding for a student placement to develop and implement evaluation of the project by social medial and stakeholder workshops |
| Amount | £1,300 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Reading |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2016 |
| End | 09/2016 |
| Title | Digital visualisation/reconstructions of Glastonbury Abbey |
| Description | As part of the FoF project, a series of digital reconstructions was created by the Centre for Christianity and Culture at the University of York (and archived with the Archaeology Data Service, University of York), based on the original research funded by the AHRC (Gilchrist and Green 2015). |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The digital reconstructions formed the basis of a digital interactive adopted by the Glastonbury Abbey Museum (100,000 visitors per annum) and have been used in a new guide book for the Abbey, in an article in a popular magazine (Current Archaeology), and for trials at Glastonbury Festival and on Youtube (see engagement section). |
| Description | HEIF Project: Innovation in Immersive Heritage Interpretation: Glastonbury Abbey |
| Organisation | Architectural Thread |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I applied for Higher Education Innovation Funding (£16,200) through the University of Reading to work with Architectural Thread and Glastonbury Abbey on the project 'Innovation in Immersive Heritage Interpretation: Glastonbury Abbey'. This project used an Industrial Strategy lens to promote new thinking in the heritage sector. I led knowledge exchange activities to introduce key principles of the Industrial Strategy Creative Industries Sector Deal to Glastonbury Abbey and its architectural consultants, Architectural Thread, and heritage consultants, Heritage & Community and I P Design. In late 2020, we began to work with immersive technology specialists, Arcade, and will shortly be submitting an AHRC FoF application to take forward this work. 2022 update: AHRC FoF has been awarded to further develop Immersive Storytelling at Glastonbury Abbey. Architectural Thread and Arcade Ltd are collaborating organisations in the resarch. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners collaborated in evaluating best practice in digital immersive heritage internationally. This knowledge informed co-design of outline concepts for digital immersive interpretation at three spaces at Glastonbury Abbey. 2022 update: Architectural Thread will develop prototype markers to work with the AR app being designed by Arcade |
| Impact | Outcomes include the HEIF grant (which I have been unable to add to the grant section of Researchfish), two knowledge exchange workshops, three reports on the project, architectural drawings of outline concepts and a presentation to the trustees of Glastonbury Abbey. A direct outcome of the work is that the trustees of Glastonbury Abbey have changed their development and interpretation strategies to prioritise immersive visitor experience. Several follow up meetings have been held and we are currently evaluating funding streams to consider how to take this forward to seek funding for implementation. 2022 update: £80,000 AHRC FoF award secured. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Article in The Conversation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article in The Conversation was used to launch the website in March 2018 (www.glastonburyabbeyarchaeology.org). The article was published on 23 March 2018. It reached an audience of 23,719 readers, principally international and largely in the USA: USA 50.6%, UK 23.4%, Australia 6.6%, Canada 5%, other 14.4% |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/glastonbury-archaeology-is-revealing-new-truths-about-the-origins-of-bri... |
| Description | Glastonbury Abbey FoF Project launch in Glastonbury Town Hall |
| 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 | The launch event consisted of a lecture given by Professor Roberta Gilchrist outlining the main findings from the Glastonbury Abbey archive project, a pop-up exhibition of selected objects from the abbey excavations together with informative banners, and follow-up interviews to evaluate the impact of the research on those who attended. 139 people attended the launch event. This figure included members of the public, staff and Trustees of Glastonbury Abbey and individuals who had been involved or held an interest in the project. 77 agreed to answer two questions when they signed-up to the event. The questions were: • What is your interest in the event? • What are you hoping to learn from this event? 55 attendees stated that they had an interest in local history, archaeology and/or the abbey. Three volunteers and one member of the abbey attended. There were also eight students taking archaeology or art history courses. Six individuals posited a spiritual interest or connection as to why they were interested in the event. Most attendees (67) came with the hope of finding out more about the archaeology and history of the abbey and/or the local area. One individual wanted to learn 'The truth', whilst another 'cool stuff! local history, secrets!'. Two individuals were interested in 'the separation of fact from myth' and 'a more factual /scientific view rather than fable'. Only one person was interested in finding out more about the Arthurian connection, whilst another was interested in knowing more about the origins of Glastonbury. Twelve people were interviewed after the lecture to find out what they personally had learned from the archive project. Four questions were asked: 1. Briefly, what is your connection to Glastonbury Abbey? 2. Before the project, what were the big archaeological questions about the abbey that you thought should be addressed? 3. What are the most important findings for you? 4. How has the project changed your understanding of Glastonbury Abbey? The people interviewed had a variety of connections to the abbey, with several having long-term connections spanning four or five decades: two individuals were Trustees, one of whom had been a Trustee going back to the late 1960s/early 1970s. Another had been the Custodian of the Abbey for 8-9 years prior to appointment of the current Director of Glastonbury Abbey. We interviewed four employees (two Living History Presenters, the Learning Assistant and the Communications Consultant), two former employees who had worked for the abbey for twenty years and one current volunteer at the abbey. We also interviewed someone who had worked in Ralegh Radford's excavations at the abbey over a 15/16 year period in the 1950s and 1960s. Most were local to the abbey, with two having long-standing family and childhood connections to the ruins. The interviewees had various levels of knowledge about the abbey prior to the project. Those who worked there already held considerable knowledge about the site, but wanted to know more and fill in the gaps in their knowledge; 'putting the flesh on the bones' as one interviewee remarked. Others were interested in specific periods and/or areas. These included: • craft working and glass making • the infirmary • everyday life at the abbey and finding out more about the artefacts • the Anglo-Saxon period, e.g. what the old Saxon church was like • the abbot's complex • putting the archaeology and archives into context • early occupation of the site prior to the Saxon and later medieval monastery • layout of the site • the secular buildings People's views on the most important findings were varied: • the whole project • that the abbey has been here 200 years longer than previously realised • the twelfth-century glass • the phasing of the church • the focus on the west end and the Lady Chapel, and the implications for the layout of the cloister and the abbot's complex. • the evaluation of the Late Roman Amphorae (Bii ware) • the local production of the clay tiles • confirmation that you can't prove or disprove that Arthur was buried here • debunking of Arthur's grave • the challenging of Radford's identification of England's earliest cloister However, there were some common themes. Six people thought that the most important thing was that the project had successfully drawn together many years of archaeological excavation into one place that was easily accessible through the monograph, and gave context to the site - as one person commented it 'brought order out of chaos'. The importance of what the digital reconstructions will do for visitor understanding at the site was also acknowledged by several people. This will enable visitors to visualise and understand the scale of the site, what it looked like and what its ground plan and 'foot print' would have been. Another thing that came out as an important finding was the dating and the production process for the Anglo-Saxon glass-working. Nine people were very interested in how the glass had been made - the fact that imported Roman glass was melted down and used to make it. The results of the fourth question, however, were more uniform. Nearly everyone in answer to how the project has changed their understanding of Glastonbury Abbey said that it had enhanced and clarified their understanding rather than changed it. For them it confirmed that Glastonbury Abbey was an important place with a rich and many layered history. They also felt that they now had a better understanding of the scale, layout, growth and phasing of the abbey as a whole. For one person the significance of the unusual layout of the abbey that focusses on the Lady Chapel has changed their outlook on the whole area. There were several other comments emphasising the importance of the archaeological project to the abbey and the local community. One person said that 'knowing that all this archaeology had been done and had not been published - I mean it was criminal in a way And this information was possibly lost because you can't re-do something even with modern things. So it's fantastic the project has been done to bring everything up-to-date. Of course the other thing was not being completed, no archaeology could take place, no fresh archaeology; which again left so many unanswered questions.' The same person also acknowledged that: 'We have now got some answers to various things. It has re-written the history of the site in a sort of way and given it it's, hopefully, rightful place in history as a major place, a major player.' One of the Trustees commented that 'The trustees were always highly embarrassed that we'd let the public down because we couldn't tell them the proper story.' Another interviewee praised the lecture: 'I think the lecture was illuminating; it was informative and it was done in a way that somebody like me, who is not an historian, who hasn't studied history past O-Level, can understand and assimilate and question.' A fourth person stated that 'This is just the beginning, absolutely, and you want to know more.' Post-launch Since the launch, Prof. Roberta Gilchrist has received several emails from people who attended the event volunteering their professional services on the current project, asking for further information to help write-up reports and also requesting guidance on the archaeology near Glastonbury's pond, to ensure an appropriate mitigation strategy is in place for when stages are set up for summer concerts. The Director of Glastonbury Abbey also received a letter from Geoffrey Ashe, a well-known local author and key figure in the New Age community of Glastonbury, praising the monograph: 'It's a splendid production, impartial and generous, and it sheds light on all sorts of things To me, the most gratifying thing is the proof - at last - that the original community was British, and existed before the Saxons' arrival, as I always maintained. The foundation has now been moved back 200 years or so to the period where it belongs. Brilliant!' Other outcomes from the launch include a short article published in the Somerset Gazette about the launch, formal thanks from Trustees minuted at their meeting on 25 January 2016, and features in South Somerset Archaeological Research Group newsletter and Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society February E-News Bulletin. We also received agreement from 56 participants in the pre and post-launch evaluation surveys to be contacted for further engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Knowledge Transfer Workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Three Knowledge Transfer workshops were held during the FoF project, engaging the staff of Glastonbury Abbey with the Museum of English Rural Life (University of Reading), Reading Museum, and an independent museum consultant. The workshops addressed the topics of Museum Learning Resources and Strategies; Tactile Learning Collections; and Use of Digital Resources for Living History. The most important learning outcomes were the different approaches to object handling, specifically the practices behind tactile access to collections and how this can be applied to the abbey's collections. Abbey staff followed up the KT workshops with an action plan to produce their own handling collections and learning activities to make the collections and archaeological research (Gilchrist and Green 2015) accessible to a wide range of audiences. Glastonbury Abbey applied successfully to Arts Council England 'Small Grants, Big Improvement' in July 2016 for £1500 funding to develop a Tactile Learning Collection. Sessions on Tactile Learning Collections have been trialled with a local college and will be rolled out to schools in spring 2017. The Abbey Museum is implementing changes in the labelling and accessibility of collections based on knowledge gained in the workshops (reported in their re-accreditation submission to Arts Council England, August 2016). The abbey plans to develop a youth panel to engage local young people in rewriting museum labels. They will improve family learning and develop a special membership offer for parents. Feedback from Glastonbury Abbey staff and Director stressed the impact of the workshops in helping them to reflect critically on their approaches and revising practice in: • object handling and tactile collections • engaging with young families • engaging with young adults • the use of language to suit different cultures, age groups and learning styles • delivery of Living History tours. Objectives from FoF Application: • Knowledge Transfer workshops will enhance the effectiveness of the resources and the quality of their implementation. • Through partnership working and knowledge transfer, the Education and Living History teams will improve the quality of educational materials and interpretation offered to visitors, making use of object handling sessions and IPad tours. • Training events for Abbey staff will include a session on the use of educational resources, run by the University of Reading's Museum of English Rural Life and involving an external specialist in the creation of handling collections and educational resources. KT workshops for staff and volunteers will also focus on the delivery of the education packs and use of the reconstructions in Living History Tours. Feedback will be gathered to improve the effectiveness of the packs and their implementation. The impact of these knowledge transfer workshops on the Abbey staff will be assessed through testimonials to determine how the training improved the delivery of tours and the visitor feedback received. KT Workshop 1: Museum Learning Resources and Strategies The first workshop was held at the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL), University of Reading on 22 February 2016. Four members of abbey staff and the Director attended. MERL staff delivered talks on the following topics: Introduction to Follow-on-funding project; The new learning strategy for the Museum of English Rural Life; The MERL handling project; Working with young adults; Working with families. This was followed by a visit to Reading Museum where they received a talk on the museum's HLF-funded Reading Abbey Revealed project. Staff were asked to fill in a survey about the workshop. Questions asked were: 1. What were the most important things you learned in the workshop? 2. Are there any elements that you would like to learn more about? 3. How is your approach to programming and planning learning and engagement going to change as a result of this workshop? 4. How are you going to apply what you have learned to interpreting the results of the Glastonbury Abbey Excavation Archive Project? 5. What are you going to do next with what you have learned? All staff found the workshop informative. The most important things learned were MERL's strategies for working and engaging with young families. One staff member commented: 'With a large number of local families and parents with toddlers attending the abbey on a daily basis this seemed key. At present we do little to accommodate this demographic, so it was useful to see strategies for accommodating them.' Staff were also interested to hear about MERL's programme working with young adults: 'It was interesting to hear from Rob Davies about engaging young people - the student panel, the social learning space, using the Arts Award as a focus for activities and methods of accessing young people.' The stand-out item for abbey staff was the introduction given on MERL's object handling strategy. Three out of the four abbey staff said that the most important thing they learned/what they wanted to learn more about was approaches to handling collections. Two staff members liked the idea of the 'traffic light' system that is employed at MERL for identifying and choosing objects for their handling collections. Two staff members found the introduction to the AHRC Follow-on-Funding project helpful: 'It was useful to have a clear outline of the project and the main findings as they apply to the Abbey. The staff also found it helpful to learn about the different learning strategies employed at MERL and how they can 'be used to tackle diverse groups'. The visit to Reading Museum was also picked out as a highlight as it was recognised that there were similarities between Reading and Glastonbury abbeys, and that Glastonbury can learn from what Reading is doing and put this into practice with their HLF bid. One staff member commented that: 'It was wonderful to visit Reading Museum (to see the abbey ruins en route and then the amazing stone sculptures on display). Matthew's description of their development project was fascinating and we could have spent a lot longer discussing this if there had been more time!' Overall, the abbey staff want to enhance and adapt their programme of learning and engagement to incorporate what they learned at the KT workshop. Developmental areas highlighted were: • Use volunteers to enhance activities outside of their current roles. • Apply more thought to the way information is displayed. • Improve family learning offer and develop membership offers to parents (e.g. Season Tickets) as this is an area that the abbey does not engage with very much. • Develop themed handling collections to improve access. Use traffic-light system to identify appropriate levels of accessibility/handling potential. • Implement some of the theoretical and practical approaches highlighted in the workshop as a basis for the label writing, such as working with young people to produce museum labels. The ways in which the staff were going to apply what they learnt to interpreting the results of the Glastonbury Abbey Excavation Archive Project are: • Use a handling collection to bring people closer to the physical history that remains. This will form a bridge between the outside ruins and the museum space, helping to explain how we know what we know and using the objects as examples. • Develop more practical activities for all who visit the abbey, perhaps with families as the main target audience. • Continue to develop and strengthen the learning programme through better engagement with the abbey's collections. • Provide access to the abbey's collections which relate to the Excavation Archive and research project (Gilchrist and Green 2015). The abbey staff went away with several plans to follow up what they had learned at the workshop: • Improve collaboration between Museums and Learning to define a strategy on how our collections can be made more accessible to staff and visitors. • Look at what we offer as part of our everyday education package and see what we can do to improve this. • Look to expanding the breadth of our learning provision for all ages, and assimilate the new interpretation into our current training for the Learning team. • Develop the pilot handling session. • Improve staff knowledge of the abbey's collections, using research from the Excavation Archive Project (Gilchrist and Green 2015). • Educate Learning team in using the handling collections. • Look at attending Open Evenings at local schools and Strode College to attract more young people who may be interested in joining a Youth Panel to contribute to re-writing some of our labels in the museum. • Look at expanding our learning offer for all ages and equip the team with the skills and knowledge to use the new interpretation. • Hold a team meeting to discuss the workshop and debrief members of staff who did not attend it. • Develop long-term strategy for making the collections more accessible both to staff and visitors. The Director of Glastonbury Abbey, Janet Bell, also provided feedback. She found information on MERL's Learning Strategy particularly helpful and would like to discuss this further in the future. This is because the abbey's current 'learning strategy needs to be redefined and a thorough reassessment is needed of what we are doing, who for and why'. She also found the visit to Reading Museum very helpful and again would like to follow this up to discuss approaches to interpretation, particularly with regard to interpreting the abbey in relation to the town. She identified several things that the staff benefited from. These were a need to focus on family learning and consider what structured activities we could put in place to engage more, particularly with our young families. Additionally, some work had been done on establishing a young people's panel, and the Director thought that some practical experience or shadowing of this area in the near future would increase staff knowledge and confidence. The staff were already doing some work on establishing a handling collection before the workshop, so were especially interested in this aspect of the programme. A more detailed session on this will help them to consider wider issues about access to collections and its interpretation and give them more confidence in developing handling sessions. The Director was especially pleased that the workshop 'brought together both curatorial and learning issues and was helpful in consolidating 'cross departmental' planning and working'. The key takeaways from the workshop, therefore, were the information given on MERL's object handling project and learning strategy, particularly how the abbey can engage more with families and young people. Work on Glastonbury Abbey's object handling strategy was quickly put into motion after the workshop, with the staff having a team meeting to discuss how they can move this forward. KT Workshop 2: Tactile Access to Collections The second knowledge transfer workshop was held at Glastonbury Abbey on 25 April 2016, led by museums consultant, Charlotte Dew, and focussed on Tactile Access to Collections (TAC). The staff learned about TAC; they were introduced to the traffic light system for choosing suitable objects for TAC collections; they were shown case studies from other museums; and how to encourage public engagement. Five members of staff attended. Once again a survey was taken, asking the same questions as the first workshop. The feedback from this workshop was overwhelmingly positive and what was learned has already been put into practice at the abbey with funding being secured from Arts Council England 'Small Grants, Big Improvement' to enable the infrastructure for a new TAC strategy at the abbey. The most important things that staff learned were the different approaches to object handling, specifically the practices behind tactile access to collections and how this can be applied to the abbey's collections. One member of staff was particularly interested in the principle that as long as the right conditions and structures are provided, any artefact can be put in a handling collection. The audience focus of the workshop was also useful in helping staff to think about the uses and benefits of handling objects to a range of users. One of the most useful elements of the workshop was a role-playing activity where staff selected a few objects from the abbey collections and discussed how they would use them to explore the theme of 'Life in the Monastery'. Further advice and guidance on the practicalities of creating handling collections (ie. information on packaging, casing, tables, transport, storage arrangements, conservation, monitoring, labelling, information notes, digital uses and applications, etc.), as well as guidance on delivery training for staff and volunteers would be beneficial. More information on digital media and object handling as a combined learning resource was also identified as an area that would be good to know more about. Staff went away wanting to adopt a new and revitalized approach to handling material, linking objects to personal abbey stories, exploring different concepts and aspects of monastic life. There was an eagerness to find ways to include more fragile/vulnerable objects not previously included in the abbey's handling boxes. The abbey staff now aim to reach new audiences with different needs, cultures, languages, experiences and learning styles, not only formal school groups. One member of staff said that the workshop has made them re-evaluate their use of language when providing learning initiatives to avoid presuming prior knowledge on a topic that the audience may not actually have. What staff learned at the workshop has already impacted on how they use and interpret the results from the Glastonbury Abbey Excavation Archive Project. Abbey staff have begun to develop a range of handling collections and learning activities to make the collections and research on the Excavations Archive accessible to a wide range of audiences. The resources will complement the new digital reconstructions and guidebook which have been created as part of the Follow-on-Funding. The resources will include handling packs of artefacts for on-site use by Living History staff and volunteers and group handling activities; they will also be used as outreach to local schools, colleges and lifelong learning organisations. Updating of the labelling in the abbey museum is also planned, which will link to the Archive Project and complement the handling resources. A meeting was held between Learning and Collections staff a week after the workshop to discuss a programme of action. The main aim of the meeting was to brainstorm a strategy for setting up a collection of materials which can be used for TAC sessions both within the abbey and as outreach in schools and other institutions, putting into action what they learnt at the workshop. The abbey also applied successfully for a grant from Arts Council England "Small Grants; Big Improvement" for infrastructure for this project (£1500, July 2016). Local learning institution, Strode College was approached and agreed to trial a TAC session in autumn 2016 with its students, with the aim that the collection would go live in Spring/Summer 2017. In addition, local teachers have requested to start to work with TAC sessions by May 2017. A meeting with GCSEs teachers was arranged for July 2016 to also gauge interest. TAC sessions will also be trialled with abbey visitors and used to train volunteers and Living History staff, collecting ongoing feedback on how they are received by different audiences. KT Workshop 3: Use of Digital Resources for Living History The third workshop involved training in the use of the digital resources produced by the FoF project. The reconstructions have been made available on tablets for use by guides giving Living History Tours at the abbey. It took place on 19 September 2016 and was led by Dr Rhi Smith (CoI). Initial feedback was: • It would be useful to have more background on the decision making behind the digital reconstructions: the sources of evidence used and why certain stylistic details were chosen. • The timings of tours may need to b |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | New website launched to profile research on the Archaeology of Glastonbury Abbey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A new website was launched to disseminate the outputs of the AHRC FoF project to a wider public audience. This includes the digital reconstructions, research for the guidebook and new 'method posts' which reflect on the challenges of reconstructing archaeological evidence and dealing with the subject of myths and legends. The website provides access to these materials for a remote audience (particularly the international audience for Glastonbury Abbey). It is also a resource for teachers planning educational visits. The website was launched in March 2018. In the first 11 months, it received over 12,000 visits and 4,000 visitors. Visits peaked in April 2018, following an article in The Conversation. I have received follow up emails from media, researchers and students in the UK and the Netherlands. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| URL | http://www.glastonburyabbeyarchaeology.org |
| Description | Press release by Glastonbury Abbey announcing new digital reconstructions based on archaeological research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | There was follow up from local radio (BBC Somerset, BBC Berkshire) requesting interviews and the Youtube links were posted on ITV News West County, BBC Somerset and Somerset Live. The Youtube video was watched by over 6,000 people and the PI and project partners gave interviews to BBC local radio. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Stakeholder Workshops |
| 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 | Four stakeholder workshops were held at Glastonbury Abbey in July 2016: two workshops with teachers gathered feedback on educational resources; and two workshops with spiritual stakeholders assessed reactions to the digital reconstructions produced by the FoF project. The feedback will inform future policy and practice at the abbey and has already been incorporated in the abbey's application to the Heritage Lottery Fund and has led to new educational opportunities for Somerset schools following the GCSE OCR syllabus. Educational stakeholders provided suggestions to further develop and refine resources for application to KS2, KS3 and GCSE syllabuses. The abbey site and educational resources were considered particularly suitable for GCSE OCR and the teachers requested to follow up the workshop with a study week at Glastonbury Abbey. Three of the six schools in Somerset who teach the OCR have agreed to use Glastonbury Abbey as their case study. In May 2017, 240 students will visit the abbey over 4 days; a follow up lecture will take place in one of the schools the following week. This outcome for the abbey and local schools is a direct outcome of the FoF project and stakeholder workshops. Spiritual stakeholders helped the project team to reflect on the challenges of multi-vocality in integrating archaeology with spiritual beliefs and representing multiple faiths at the abbey. This arose in relation to visual representations of the 'Old Church' associated with Joseph of Arimathea. They were expecting something similar to an Iron Age round house, as depicted by Bligh Bond in the 1920s and reproduced in several New Age publications about Glastonbury. As a result, a decision was taken to include both the new reconstruction and Bligh Bond's in the Museum digital interactive and in the guidebook. This acknowledges a long-held belief by the local community and will provide an opportunity to reflect on critical approaches to evidence and subjectivity in visual reconstructions. The project team gained useful feedback on developing multi-faith approaches at the abbey including contemplative spaces, meditation trails and approaches to commemorating Arthur. These ideas have been incorporated in plans for engagement with spiritual stakeholders in the Stage 1 Application to the Heritage Lottery Project to develop new visitor facilities at Glastonbury Abbey (November 2016). Objectives from FoF Application: • Evaluate the impact of research on local stakeholders through workshops that will gather feedback from teachers and spiritual groups to inform future interpretation and development, including the Abbey's HLF bid for a new museum and education centre. • Multi-vocal perspectives will be explored through stakeholder workshops that will inform future interpretation and policy on the spiritual use of the site for multiple faiths. • The digital reconstructions and education packs will be trialled through interactive engagement activities with selected stakeholder audiences. Workshops will be designed and delivered by the PI and Co-I which outline the most significant findings of the research project, introduce the new resources and evaluate their importance for stakeholders. These events will capture the impact of the research for different spiritual and educational stakeholders and gather feedback to inform future interpretation and new development. Key questions: o How has the research project changed historical understanding of Glastonbury Abbey among different stakeholders? o What is the best use of the reconstructions to encourage them to visit and explore the Abbey? o What themes/issues would different stakeholders like to see emphasised in the presentation of the research to the public? What do they see as the important questions that still remain to be answered? o What improvements and additions could be made to the education packs to address Key Stage curriculum? o How do the findings of the research project impact on individuals' spiritual beliefs about Glastonbury Abbey? • The spiritual workshop would also be an opportunity to explore multi-denominational views on the contemporary use of the Lady Chapel for worship. The Abbey trustees would welcome the opportunity to gather stakeholder feedback to inform their policy on the spiritual use of the site for multiple faiths. This question is highly relevant to the Abbey's forthcoming HLF bid. The impact of these stakeholder engagement workshops will be assessed during the events through the responses to the questions defined above. Workshops with Educational Stakeholders The first two were held on 6 and 7 July 2016 in Glastonbury Abbey, one for Key Stage 2 teachers (two attended from Somerset schools) and the other for Key Stage 3 and GCSE teachers (5 attended from Somerset schools). The draft educational resources were assessed and the reconstructions toured around the site on tablets. Very positive feedback was received. Prior to the project, school activities provided at Glastonbury were not curriculum specific. This was because the previous curriculum was difficult to relate to what the abbey could offer. This means that many teachers do not visit the site as the current educational offer does not link directly to what they are teaching in class or meet the educational needs of the pupils. The educational resources being developed through the project have addressed this gap by linking the new resources to KS2, KS3 and GCSE syllabuses. This has only been possible through the research project on the Excavation Archive (Gilchrist and Green 2015), eg activities on the Saxons for KS2 are now possible due to the evidence for this period of the abbey's history being analysed and made available. The KS2 teachers had visited Glastonbury Abbey before, but went away wanting to bring their classes back to the abbey for educational sessions as the site meets many curriculum needs (hands-on/multi-sensory; myths and legends; King Arthur; creative writing; pilgrimage; citizenship; maths and science; Religious Education; history and archaeology). Teachers emphasised that children benefit from a hands-on, active experience, and being in a different environment to their usual classroom - hands-on activities reinforce learning. They have used Somerset Educational Loans Service for handling objects in the past, but many objects are in plastic boxes and don't give the full tactile experience. They would appreciate handling collections provided by Glastonbury Abbey. Treasure hunt trails work well, especially if they have a multisensory element. They specified that more resources connected to Welsh history would be beneficial since myths and legends are part of the curriculum, as well as approved resources for the King Arthur stories. Having specific key facts and specialist information broken down into quick readable text will help with time-pressured teachers. They were very impressed with the reconstructions which would help children visiting the site to understand scale and orientation. The teachers suggested that physical activities, such as asking children to mark things out on the ground on site, will help them understand the site as well as developing maths skills. The drone videos help significantly with comprehension of the physical site and how it's changed. Watching it outside helps most with understanding it in context. The secondary teachers went away very keen to have Glastonbury Abbey put on the GCSE OCR history syllabus as a case study. They requested help with providing evidence for how the site fits into the OCR programme. The educational resources developed by the project already address much of what is required by OCR; eg statement of significance exercise - teachers requested an activity based around producing a portfolio/report writing. The teachers would like teaching using Glastonbury Abbey to be different from other types of learning through visits hands-on activities. They would also like continued involvement with University of Reading in terms of an expert lecture/video/blog/skype sessions on the site for students. Teachers' packs will provide expert information and detail that teachers find difficult to access - a particular problem with Glastonbury Abbey since there is a plethora of sources available, but of varying quality. Object handling sessions would help students with questions for the GCSE exam on creating handling collections. Similar to feedback from the primary school teachers, the secondary school teachers highlighted the weaknesses of South West Heritage object loan boxes as they were plastic and not appealing. Again, the teachers acknowledged the benefit of using the reconstructions on site on tablets to understand scale and orientation, but also use of space, pilgrimage movement, liminal areas, hierarchy of spaces and social structure. Following the workshop, it was agreed to hold a GCSE OCR study week at Glastonbury Abbey. Three of the six schools in Somerset who teach the OCR have agreed to use Glastonbury Abbey as their case study. In May 2017, 240 students will visit the abbey over 4 days; a follow up lecture will take place in one of the schools the following week. Workshops with Spiritual Stakeholders The third and fourth stakeholder workshops were held on 27 and 28 July 2016 at Glastonbury Abbey and were attended by eight representatives of the local faith communities, including Roman Catholicism, the Quakers, the New Age Community and Buddhism. An introduction to the Glastonbury Abbey Excavation Archive Project was given by Prof. Roberta Gilchrist outlining the project's key findings. The stakeholders were then taken onto the abbey site and shown the reconstructions in situ using portable tablets. A survey was conducted to record their initial reactions to the reconstructions. Questions asked were: 1. Could you briefly describe your relationship to Glastonbury Abbey? 2. How do you feel about the reconstruction of the 'old church' associated with Joseph of Arimathea? 3. What do you feel about the reconstruction of Arthur's tomb? 4. Do the digital reconstructions change your understanding of the spaces of the medieval abbey? 5. What are its benefits for you and/or other visitors in the digital reconstructions? 6. Which one of the reconstructions do you feel most connected to? 7. What do you think are the most important features of the site to highlight for interpretation? 8. Are there any periods/aspects you would personally like to find out more about? 9. Do you think that the religious/spiritual significance of the site should be a core aspect of the interpretation? 10. Do you see any challenges in integrating the religious aspects of the site with its interpretation to the public, including events and performances? 11. Are there any questions you have that the project left unanswered/didn't address? 12. Do you think it's important for Arthur's association with Glastonbury to be represented on site? If so, what approach would you like to see? 13. How would you like to see the spiritual aspect of the site explored further (e.g. through contemplative spaces/ trails, artists' responses)? 14. Do you think it is important for us to interpret and express the pan-spirituality of the site? If so, what approaches would you like to see? 15. Are you interested in exploring the relationship between historical religious belief and contemporary faith? 16. Do you think that the project might have an effect on how you might use the space for worship in the future? The overall response was that the stakeholders were very impressed with the reconstructions, especially helping to put the standing ruins into context. One stakeholder commented 'to have a reconstruction like that is just absolutely magnificent really. It just transforms the whole thing from being an idea, if you like, in your head, into something that you can actually almost touch So it's transformational in the sense of from an idea to a reality.' Another said that ''just seeing those reconstructions just sort of wakes you up a bit; it just awakens your awareness.' The reconstructions also helped the stakeholders better understand the development of the site over time: 'but to see how the simplicity [of the Old Church] changes over time into something that is outstandingly magnificent in terms of art and architecture and artefacts is just, blows your mind really, with all the colour.' One stakeholder preferred the reconstructions set within moving drone footage rather than the static images since this gave them a sense of scale and made them more interesting. Another found it emotionally moving to see what the abbey would have looked like. Reactions to the reconstruction of the Old Church were mixed, however. The Christian stakeholders were expecting a much more humble building compared to the lead-clad reconstruction of the phase 2 Old Church, and questioned the likelihood of the lead cladding described by William of Malmesbury. Other spiritual stakeholders, in contrast, were very disappointed with the reconstruction of the Old Church as it was not how they believed it looked. They were expecting something similar to an Iron Age round house, as depicted by Bligh Bond in the 1920s and reproduced in several New Age publications about Glastonbury. This prompted useful discussion and reflection by the project team on the value of multi-vocal approaches and the importance of acknowledging a belief long-held by the local community. As a result, a decision was taken to include both the new reconstruction and Bligh Bond's in the Museum digital interactive and in the guidebook. This will provide an opportunity to reflect on critical approaches to evidence and subjectivity in visuals reconstructions. The reaction to the reconstruction of Arthur's Tomb was very positive. The stakeholder's did not expect the artist's representation to be quite as colourful, but were pleasantly surprised by this. One stakeholder commented that 'it is something which has been frequently asked about - what did it look like - and I think that's the first time I've seen a representation in a decent form, and I rather like it. Another said: 'it really shows the whole thing in its glory I've just learnt some new things looking at that I think that's a really helpful reconstruction, gives a really helpful picture of the razzmatazz and the colour.' However, one stakeholder did comment that they found the artist reconstruction slightly frustrating as they would like to see more of the space around the tomb. And another felt that the reconstruction detracted from the actual tomb of Arthur, being more about the royal visit. The reaction to the question about whether the reconstructions had changed their understanding of the spaces of the abbey was mixed. One stakeholder said that the reconstruction of Arthur's Tomb, the Old Church and the reconstructions of the Saxon church were particularly helpful in this respect. Two others said that the reconstructions helped them to visualise the scale of the site. However, two stakeholders said that they had not changed their understanding at all. This may reflect a difference in prior knowledge of the site. One stakeholder said that they would like to see more digital reconstruction in the future, showing the development of the entire abbey site over time. The benefit of having reconstructions for visitors was acknowledged, especially as this is something that is expected by visitors at heritage sites. One stakeholder commented that: 'you can enter more in the spirit of the time, you can enter more in how it was, it becomes more solid and more visible so that's a great help in helping to reconstruct your own thoughts and ideas about it.' The stakeholders acknowledged that the reconstructions enabled them to better visualise the space and movement within it. One also felt that the reconstructions help to understand the abbey's 'journey through time'; how the site has developed and evolved chronologically. Two felt that the reconstruction of the Abbot's Complex was very useful since there is little visitor understanding of that area at the moment. It was suggested that a mobile app with some of the reconstructions on would be good for the future. One stakeholder observed that |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | The Rhind Lectures May 2017 (6 public lectures in Edinburgh, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two of the six Rhind Lectures focused on Glastonbury Abbey. The audience for the lectures was around 300 people, while the pocasts on youtube have reached an additional national and international audience. Rhind 5 - 'Monastic Legacies: memory and the biography of place' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYDRc0SP8Fk = 69 views; Rhind 6 - Sacred Myths: archaeology and authenticity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74ycek6Tp-I = 109 views |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.socantscot.org/event/sacred-heritage-the-archaeology-of-medieval-beliefs-rhind-lectures/ |
| Description | Youtube Video Taster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A 'taster' reconstruction was trialled through YouTube and with participants at the Glastonbury Rock Festival. A press release was also issued by Glastonbury Abbey and the University of Reading, which led to links being posted on the news websites of ITV News West and BBC Somerset. The combined views through the news websites was over 5000, with 747 views on YouTube, and 33 Twitter mentions on 23 channels, with 181 interactions. Respondents at Glastonbury Festival rated entertainment as the most important factor for why they would visit the abbey. Objectives from the FoF application: • One of the digital reconstructions will be trialled as a 'taster' on YouTube. We will ask viewers whether the reconstruction would encourage them to visit the Abbey. Its use will be monitored for 3 months to see who uses it and how it moves (eg through retweeting). Video Taster: One of the clips of the Anglo-Saxon church imbedded into contemporary drone footage of the abbey was made into a video for YouTube and also shown on tablets to Glastonbury Festival goers. The video's use was monitored online and instant feedback was gained at Glastonbury Festival about whether the reconstruction would encourage viewers to visit the Abbey. The results are as follows: (Results as of 13 December 2016) YouTube 747 views, 5 likes, 0 comments. • Highest number of interactions on a single post is 19 retweets, 27 likes. • 33 mentions on 23 channels. 181 interactions (likes and shares) including BBC Somerset. • Museum Studies at the University of Reading - posted a link to the YouTube reconstruction video. 8 likes, 0 comments. • Archaeology at the University of Reading - posted a link to the YouTube reconstruction video. 9 likes, 0 comments. • ITV News West Country - posted link to video of reconstructions on their website. 3.5k views, 12 shares, 1 comment • Somerset Live - posted a link to the YouTube reconstruction video. 16 likes • BBC Somerset 95.5 FM - posted link to video of reconstructions on their website. 1.7k views, 22 likes, 12 shares, 2 comments Glastonbury Festival The clip used in the YouTube video was shown at Glastonbury Festival, as a taster and to record initial reactions to the reconstructions. The question 'Will/would you visit the abbey to see the new digital reconstructions?' was asked. • 101 responses to reconstruction video • 92 positive responses • 9 negative responses • 48 comments • Feedback themes: o Historical/factual interest - 8 o Spiritual interest - 1 o Site physicality - 7 o Distance/location - 3 o Visual appeal of video - 13 o Entertainment factor - 33 o Community - 1 o Previous visit - 1 o Potential new visit - 12 Examples of comments: 'Very interesting, puts some scale on the whole area.' 'So important to preserve how it's decayed. Really useful to see how people have put it together but not restored.' 'Having visited the abbey last year this will make a big improvement to the offer at the abbey.' 'A feeling of spirituality. A feel of the past in the present.' 'Really impressive, would definitely make us visit.' 'Very nice, would be a great addition to a visit!' 'Looks fantastic, well worth a visit.' 'Looks great on screen, would love to visit'. 'Helps to visualise what was there.' 'Looks like a nice family day out.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpNy4qIypt8 |