Context 158 - March 2019

C O N T E X T 1 5 8 : M A R C H 2 0 1 9 23 Highlands and Islands McElroy co-founded the project while working in a call centre. They do not even have a university degree between them. However, both are driven by a strong sense of community and a keen interest in the archaeology of Caithness. In 2013, the pair set up the broch project as a means of promoting the area as a heritage tour- ism destination, and to encourage some form of economic sustainability and security. Since then, the team has completed a number of projects aimed to increase awareness, under- standing and appreciation of the archaeology of Caithness. At the crux of these events is the theme of accessibility – opening up archaeology to as many people as possible, as much as possi- ble. If the endgame is to open up Caithness as a world-class tourism destination, surely it would be prudent to ensure that the local community is engaged and excited about its own archaeologi- cal heritage? To achieve this, CBP managed to organise a wide range of archaeology-related projects between 2016 and 2018. Its first project was the installation of three ‘standing-stone’ inter- pretation panels at three broch sites across Caithness, with an accompanying broch-trail leaflet. Around 12,000 leaflets have been print- ed. In the same year a four-day archaeological survey was organised with Scotland’s Coastal Archaeology at Risk Project (SCHARP). This involved more than 60 participants in a coastal walkover between the brochs of Skirza and Nybster, during which a carving by local anti- quarian John Nicolson was discovered. By 2017 Caithness Broch Project had man- aged to organise even more substantial projects. A ‘Home of the Broch’ exhibition was launched in the local museum Caithness Horizons, the centrepiece of which was a 10,000-piece Lego broch, built by professional historical Lego- building duo Dan Harris and James Pegrum of ‘Brick to the Past’. More than 4,000 visitors came to the exhibition and 800 local schoolchil- dren participated in hands-on heritage activities, and built their own brochs in the computer game Minecraft. In the same year a Caithness Broch Festival was organised, with over 600 participants. School outreach and archaeologi- cal excavations took place at two brochs. One possible broch, Thusater, threw up a fascinating number of finds, including stone tools, a pig’s tooth (indication of a high-status site) and even a hearth. The team hopes to continue excavations at the site in 2019 to further define the structure. In addition to these projects, CBP was recently awarded £180,000 towards the consolidation and conservation of arguably one of Caithness’ best brochs, Ousdale Burn Broch, with work scheduled to commence by mid-2019, and completed before December. All of this has been organised on an entirely voluntary basis. Many hours have been ploughed into ensuring that Caithness and Caithnessians are able to experience an enjoyable archaeological experience. In addition to the many talks pro- vided by CBP, between 6,000 and 8,000 people have benefited from interaction with the project. With regards to the ultimate aim of the project Historical attractions noted on a view of Caithness © Caithness Broch Project