I'm Andrew and I volunteered for
the Access to Archaeology programme in June 2017. I had previously met Charina and Calli, the
Historic Environment Record Officers, whilst working in their office mapping footpaths
across Gower, aiding the Old Trackways part of the Gower Landscape Project, so
I knew of their patience, kindness and tolerance previously. I had no previous experience of archaeology
apart from rambles during my childhood over the round barrows and war defences
on Mynydd Margam, and searches for the Bodvoc Stone; and later on family holidays
in France finding menhir, walking through the Carnac stones and in Greece
discovering beehive tombs and Byzantine chapels.
As a retiree getting to grips
with the software was a slow-ish process but with assistance from both Charina
or Calli plus the (constant!) use of a printed guide, I soon found that
converting the contents of paper reports into digital format soon became a
pleasurable task. It was reassuring to know that my input was being
quality-assured by the HER Officers.
I am pleased to have assisted in
the conversion of the paper archaeology reports into digital format. Seeing the
digital versions of the reports online using Archwilio is amazing, as so much
archaeological knowledge from Wales' history is instantly available. The Access to Archaeology project has opened
up access to archaeological sites in Wales from any period of history for
everyone.
I also learnt from the
environment of the HER Office, from a layperson's view, a little of how modern
archaeology works, and of the structure and planning that go into looking after
the heritage of this part of Wales.
I feel very lucky to live in
Wales and be able to access the work of the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological
Trust and to have the resources of Archwilio and Coflein so freely available
online. In my view the Access to
Archaeology project has been an immense success.
Thanks to everyone at the
Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust for making my stay so pleasant and
memorable.
