‘Why can’t we dig like they do on Time Team?’ The meaning of the past within working class communities

Abstract

This paper describes the community excavation organised by Great Yarmouth Museums in Norfolk, England in 2001. It resulted from a period of consultation with a wide range of community representatives within the Borough during the development of the Borough’s Heritage Strategy. In 2000, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions published a review of the Indices of Deprivation, Great Yarmouth ranked fifth-worst in ward level intensity out of 354 local authority districts in England, and the excavation took place in the heart of the most deprived area of the town. Consultation showed that those who lived in this area had a strong interest in the past beyond memory and were keen to find out more about it. Above all, they wanted to take part in an excavation and put the objects they found in a new museum. The paper explores common preconceptions of working class attitudes to archaeology and heritage and considers how far these were borne out by work with deprived communities in Great Yarmouth.

Keywords:

• labour heritage
• community heritage
• excavation
• community consultation
• archaeology

Acknowledgements

The author, who was project leader on this excavation, would like to thank all the partners for their help and support, the local archaeological society, the museum team and the people who took part. Above all this community enterprise could not have happened without the support of the Norfolk Archaeological Unit and in particular the enthusiasm and commitment of the archaeologist who worked on this project. The views expressed in this paper, and any errors, are the author’s own.

Notes

1. A group of professional bodies working together to support the conservation and interpretation of the Borough of Great Yarmouth’s heritage. The partners included the National Trust, English Heritage, the County Museums Service and the Borough Council.

2. http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/programmes/renaissance/renaissance%20results/∼/media/Files/pdf/2006/taking_stock.

3. BBC Press Office (2008).

4. A popular archaeology television programme in which Tony Robinson, a well-known television presenter, presides over a real excavation carried out within three days, facilitated by a team of archaeologists who are set a puzzle to solve. The words ‘Time Team’ were not used at any point in the advertising or management of the community excavation and the excavation itself adopted a different model of practice from that used by the television programme.