Community Archaeology Research Gets Underway

More than 2000 community and voluntary groups are being contacted as part of this nationwide survey.

The CBA announced late last year that they were embarking on some research into the nature and activities of the voluntary sector in archaeology. Following the appointment of Suzie Thomas as our Community Archaeology Support Officer, a questionnaire has now been compiled and sent out to more than 2000 local groups and societies across the UK, with help from other umbrella bodies such as the Civic Trust, Archaeology Scotland, the Association of Small Historic Towns and Villages, Federation of Ulster Local Studies and the National Council for Metal Detecting.

This survey forms part of a research project assessing the many and varied archaeological activities carried out by the voluntary sector across the UK. The results will guide us as we upgrade the level of support offered by the online Community Archaeology Forum and begin designing a programme of training workshops in various aspects of practical archaeological skills. The results of this work will be shared across the sector through news items and conference papers from the summer onwards, and in the meantime you can read more about the programme, and watch the project take shape through our community support blog.