Digital Dig Team: Leiston Abbey is an exciting new crowdfunded and crowdsourced archaeology project. We’re creating greater public access to the rich archaeological heritage at Leiston Abbey, building an entirely new digital recording system and a sustainable, open access digital resource that will preserve the information for generations to come.
What does that actually mean? It means that our Venturers are with us every step of the way as funders and participants, both during the excavation process in the trenches and through the new digital system, where we’re sharing every single shred of our data, in real time, as it comes out of the trenches.
Crowdfunded
In a bold step forward for the heritage sector, the ‘Digital Dig Team’ project is the first HLF-supported crowdfunded project in England. We’ve raised over £36,000 from a community of 230 Venturers from 13 countries, and the HLF’s grant commitment now means that any amount contributed by the public, starting at £10, will be worth twice its amount in match funding. Even better, crowdfunding allows us to put interested people, from around the world, inside the project with us – as part of our team. Join the Team…
Crowdsourced
For the first time ever in professional research archaeology, we’ve ditched the written records! Using iPads and smart phones in the trenches to record our finds and features, we hope to inspire our volunteers to become part of the excavation and post-excavation process. This is citizen science with rocket boosters: enhancing and interpreting the archaeological archive, and creating a sustainable, community-based resource for future research. It’s not us – it’s you! Meet the Team…
Archaeology
Digital Dig Team is about the future: the future management and presentation of Leiston Abbey, and the future of archaeological field recording. Our Venturers assist DigVentures archaeologists with every aspect of the fieldwork, learning new archaeological techniques such as geophysics and topographic survey; building recording, including a full photogrammetry survey of the upstanding remains; excavation; and post-excavation assessment, publication and exhibition planning. Get stuck in – we need you! See the Data…
