Altogether Archaeology is combining its excavation work with a really exciting new Arts project in May this year, thanks to funding from the Northern Heartlands Community Initiative Fund, managed by County Durham Community Foundation. The grant will enable us to extend our investigations into the deserted medieval settlement at Well Head, Holwick and to complement the dig findings with film making, oral history, art work and creative writing.
During the past two seasons at Holwick, we have been amazed by the response of the local community and by the wealth of personal stories, memories and family legends we uncovered alongside the remains of the medieval village. Our aim is to tap into and record all of that to create a Holwick archive and to encourage people to develop their own creative work inspired by the site.
Primary school children will be involved in finds processing and writing their own stories associated with the treasures they uncover. We want to encourage people to come to the open days and share their experiences and reminiscences, and for adults to engage with sketching and painting at the site. We will be working with Lonely Tower filmmakers who are going to document the excavation and the creative work to produce two short films. Writer, audio producer and oral historian Rachel Cochrane will be talking to visitors and the archaeologists to record their thoughts about the site.
The 2019 excavation will take place from 11-26 May; as in previous years the volunteers will be supervised by a professional archaeologist to ensure that the highest standards are met. You do need to be a member of Altogether Archaeology to participate in the dig, for insurance reasons. However, we welcome members of the public to open days at the site and look forward to meeting you and hearing your stories. Dates of the open days will be published soon on this website. If you would like to read our interim report on the 2018 excavation you will find this on the Reports page and can download a copy from there. |
