On 6 April 2019 the research project grouping – comprising Susan Brind, Jenny Brownrigg and Gina Wall (GSA – Reading Landscape group), Birthe Jorgensen (independent artist) and Alex Hale (Historic Environment Scotland) – were invited to work with Tomintoul and Glenlivet Landscape Partnership, to lead a day-long public workshop 'Celebrating Scalan': a community event organised by the latter to 'uncover new stories about the hidden landscapes of Scalan', through capturing memories of place and community reflections on Scalan. This workshop resulted directly from interdisciplinary research and fieldwork begun in June 2018 (funded by RDF) between GSA colleagues and Historic Environment Scotland.
The methods employed during the workshop aligned with and enriched the approach taken during the initial fieldwork, and specifically included:
• Visual and data mining of the existing archaeological documentation of ‘field graffiti’ within the barns at Scalan, accompanied by the visitors;
• Archaeological and creative field research including drawing, site surveys, photography, video and audio recordings, particularly - subject to 'informed consent' permissions - documenting the stories of visitors who had knowledge of Scalan; and
• Reflexive research methods including participatory group work, including informal dialogues with visitors.
The workshop related most directly to one of the research questions underlying the collaborative, interdisciplinary research identified for the fieldwork at Scalan in 2018: How might our understanding of landscape be enriched by reading this place as a site of inscription which correlates with the archaeological concept of palimpsest?
The dialogues with visitors who attended the workshop brought a rich array of first hand knowledge and accounts of people who had lived on and worked the land at Scalan, as well as intimate knowledge of the landscape surrounding the settlement and barns. They were able to bring readings and insights to the graffiti within the barns, and uncover new stories about the hidden landscapes of Scalan that were of value to the Tomintoul and Glenlivet Landscape Partnership's community archive.
The timing of this workshop was key in providing an opportunity for visitors from the vicinity to experience the barns and discuss their significance and value, in terms of local and social history, prior to the renovation of the barns as a heritage site.
