‘Citizen archaeologists’ needed for Orkney’s eroding coastal heritage

April 15, 2013 at 1:00 pm

Human remains from the medieval cemetery at Tammaskirk, in Rendall, exposed by coastal erosion in 2007.

If you enjoy the coast, know about your local heritage – or want to explore it further, you could make a real contribution to a national project which is being run by The SCAPE Trust and the University of St Andrews.

The Scotland’s Coastal Heritage at Risk project is looking for volunteers who can visit threatened coastal archaeological and historical sites in their local areas to take photographs, record their current condition and contribute information to a national database of coastal archaeological sites.

Of the 1,000 archaeological sites around Scotland short-listed as the highest priority for action because of their importance and risk of loss as a result of erosion, nearly a quarter are in Orkney.

To find out more about the project, and what’s involved in being a ‘citizen archaeologist’, there are free training days on Wednesday, April 17, at the Orkney Library and Archives, from 10.30am until 4pm, and on Saturday, April 20, at the Heilsafjold Youth and Community Centre, in Sanday, from 10am to 4.30pm.

To book a place, click here.