Delve into the Past Season One

Pre-excavation
The pre-excavation classes held in Alness in advance of our 2011 excavation at Foulis went well.

First of all participants got the chance to learn about the research done in the Pathways into the Past (ARCH) and the Road Through Ross (NOSAS) projects. Then the group researched the site before going to dig it, looking at aerial photos, historical maps and documentary sources about the site, as well as vital online resources such as the Historic Environment Record (HER). The record for the site we excavated can be found at MHG8945.

As well as finding out more about the site itself there was an introduction to the history and development of excavation through the past century. Practical workshops in each session introduced participants to archaeological drawing (plans and sections), filling out context sheets, taking levels (heights) using a dumpy level and the dreaded Harris Matrix!

These pre-excavation classes helped prepare people who had never been digging before and gave others the chance to brush up on their recording techniques.

Excavation
The excavation itself was documented on a daily basis through our blog, catch up on the events of 2011 before we get digging again in summer 2012.

Post-excavation
After the summer digging was over we held some post-excavation classes to look at what happens next. Participants got the chance to get involved in data entry, soil sample processing, including flotation and sorting, as well as inking up site drawings and learning more about the finds and museum cataloguing process.

We are now holding classes looking at pulling al our information and some of the finds from the site into a small display. See our events calendar for more details on the classes.