Orkney

Archaeology Meets Design: Creating The Wander Collection

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IMG_0403Archaeology meets design in an innovative new collaboration pushing the boundaries of the archaeological map.

Designer Kirsteen Stewart launched The Wander Collection earlier this year in collaboration with Archaeologist Dan Lee at the Archaeology Institute at the University of the Highlands & Islands.

Finding connections in their approaches, Dan and Kirsteen decided to develop a new creative process which combined aspects of archaeological landscape survey and walking, with their references to place, material and time. These were transformed into new forms of digital maps which formed the design basis for a new range of clothing and accessories. Dan has recently been exploring the potential for experimental mappings in archaeology and has developed new innovative ways of combining walks, performance and landscape using handheld GPS (Global Positioning System) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Together, they decided to push the archaeological map and design process in new directions.

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Kirsteen carried a small GPS receiver in her handbag whilst going about her daily routine throughout Orkney’s coasts and islands; from going to work in the studio and doing the daily post office run to dropping the car at the garage or running an errand for the farm at the local Auction Mart.  In this way Kirsteen’s journey through her day was recorded with the GPS receiver – a small device that is used in archaeology to locate the locations of  sites and features in the landscape. At the same time, other places were referenced with additional GPS receiver creating multiple sets of data.

Experimental map made by combining GPS data from a walk

Dan took the all data from these walks and performances and transformed them into experimental digital maps, in the form of line drawings. Whilst the original walks and movements are recognisable in the resulting map, combining the data often resulted in unexpected outcomes and patterns; all embraced by the creative process.

Kirsteen took these maps and combined the simple linear shapes with elemental colours, both inspired by the island landscape the daily paths we take throughout Orkney. This process came together to form The Wander Collection.

Check out the finished designs on Wander Collection look book website.

Their collaboration is still developing, exploring innovative creative processes using design and archaeology. The UHI Archaeology Institute continues to develop strong links with the business sector in Orkney with collaborations with Ola Gorie and Ortak Jewellery. 

 

Mapping Magnus Community Excavation – Palace Village, Birsay

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The hunt for medieval structures continues in Palace Village, Birsay Orkney.

A team from the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute together with community volunteers will commence the excavation phase of the exciting community archaeology ‘Mapping Magnus’ project by digging test pits around the medieval site of the Bishops Palace.

The dig begins on the 25th September and continues for two weeks until 6 October 2017 and visitors are most welcome to view the excavations as they happen and discuss the progress with the team as they continue to investigate medieval Palace Village. The digs commence at 9am and finish at 5pm each day.

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You can join the team by contacting UHI Archaeology Institute’s Lifelong Learning and Outreach Archaeologist, Dan Lee at studyarchaeology@uhi.ac.uk – no previous archaeological experience is necessary as training will be given, but please contact us as places are now limited. Volunteers meet at Palace village car park opposite the kirk.

There will also be an Open Day on 30th September in which visitors can view the progress and discuss the results with the archaeologists.

Join the conversation #MappingMagnus #Magnus900

Background to the Mapping Magnus Project

20170604_155155The University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute has been commissioned by Orkney Islands Council to deliver a programme of community archaeology activities and events that will explore the story of St Magnus and medieval Orkney.

The Mapping Magnus project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of Magnus 900, commemorating the 900th anniversary year of the death of St Magnus during 2017.

Based around the central themes of the Mapping Magnus project – Movement & Pilgrimage, Religion & Power, Stones & Bones – activities include archive research, storytelling and collecting, geophysical survey, walkover survey, excavation, coastal survey, a noust survey and community and schools workshops. Fieldwork activities are focussed in Palace village and the surrounding area of Birsay. Other key places within the story, such as the site of Magnus’ Martyrdom on Egilsay and the Mansie Stane sites where his body was rested during transit will be included.

All activities will involve training and hands-on experiences for the local community and schools, and local volunteers are encouraged to get involved.

Supported by:

 

‘Our Islands, Our Past’ Conference-International Speaker Line-up.

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Ring of Brodgar
Ring of Brodgar. Photo: Jim Richardson.

The University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute looks forward to welcoming an impressive line-up of speakers and contributors to the ‘Our Islands, Our Past’ Conference on the 14th- 17th September.

The conference sessions include speakers from around the globe on themes relevant to island life – past, present and future.

  • Session One: The Three Islands Group Research Framework (more on this session in a later separate blog)
  • Session Two: Identity and Culture
  • Session Three: Sustainability and Conservation
  • Session Four: Migration and Abandonment
  • Session Five: Connectivity and Travel
  • Session Six: Island Culture and Place

We look forward to welcoming an international array of delegates including  Adam Markham, Deputy Director of Climate & Energy the Union of Concerned Scientists, who will be opening Session Three with a paper entitled: Climate Change, Island World Heritage, and Lessons from Community Responses.

Adam writes in his abstract, ” Cultural resources, including archaeology, historic sites and intangible heritage are at risk from climate change on islands the world over. Climate impacts include sea level rise, coastal erosion, and extreme weather events. Irreplaceable archaeological and other cultural resources are being lost at an alarming rate, and with them, important and sacred places, and some of the stories and histories that help provide peoples’ sense of belonging. Island World Heritage sites provide an opportunity to draw local and international attention to the threat posed by climate change and to the special circumstances island communities face in responding to change. ”

Come along and listen to Adam in person at 11am Saturday 16th September 2017 when he is scheduled to present his paper.

Everyone is welcome to attend…register by sending in the Conference Registration Form to archaeologyconference@uhi.ac.uk.

See our Conference website for more details on ‘Our Islands, Our Past’ Conference 2017.

Follow the conference on Twitter #oiopconference

Community Archaeology – Palace Village, Birsay

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20170527_134825The second phase of the exciting community archaeology and training project, Mapping Magnus, begins on the 25th and 26th August 2017.

Local volunteers are invited to team up  with archaeologists from the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute to complete an archaeological survey in Palace Village, Birsay.

We will be meeting at Palace Village, Birsay car park opposite the Kirk at 10am, everyone is welcome to join the survey, mapping and recording…whether you have archaeological experience or not!

The area around Birsay is closely linked with the story of St Magnus and this project will give volunteers the opportunity to learn surveying and mapping techniques and add to the archaeological record relating to the Magnus story.

The Mapping Magnus project involves a whole series of archaeological events in August and September 2017 (see poster below).

So….. if you want to get involved and find out more about the archaeology of St Magnus then contact the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute studyarchaeology@uhi.ac.uk or 01856 569229

Community Archaeology Mapping Magnus Ad

This project is supported by:

When is a cist, not a cist?

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Some of the most significant finds in archaeology are not found by trained archaeologists, but by members of the public.

We know that there is so much archaeology to find on Orkney and one of the most exciting elements of being involved with the University of the Highlands and Archaeology Institute is taking a call from a member of the public who has spotted something interesting in a field, on the beach or eroding out of a shoreline.

And so, when Julie Gibson (County Archaeologist for Orkney) took a call saying that someone had identified a possible cist eroding out of the shoreline, we set off with ranging poles, trowel, camera, photograph, map and a set of sturdy boots to investigate.

DSC_0017The weather was perfect with the sun breaking through spring clouds and even Scapa Flow was mirror flat as we searched for the site. The area was not too distant from an identified early settlement site and a ship beaching point and so we were optimistic that perhaps the find was significant.

We soon identified the place from the description, map references and photograph and to all intents and purposes, it certainly did look like a burial cist – upright stones, set within peat in a rectangular shape. The feature was situated on the foreshore of Scapa Flow and was regularly inundated with water and so it could be a feature eroding out of the shoreline – as so much archaeology is so doing in Orkney.

Following a more detailed investigation of the area, it soon became evident that the feature was, in fact, a peculiar geological feature and not a cist as first suspected. But it could have been and it could have been an indicator of another important archaeological discovery in Orkney.

Many thanks to those people who take the time and effort to contact us at the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute when they come across finds and features in the landscape. Who knows, the next time the phone rings it could well be another Ness of Brodgar!