Connecting UK communities
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) research programmes have been pioneering the learning that underpins social change for over a decade. They focus on the importance of histories, known and hidden, and heritage, shared and new, in UK communities’ sense of belonging and local pride.
The AHRC-funded Caerau And Ely Rediscovering (CAER) Heritage project has been generating positive outcomes for a Welsh community facing adversity for almost two decades now. It has provided a model for how we can ensure research creates wider and better access to heritage and culture.
Archaeological and historical research play a key role in connecting UK communities with their heritage and with each other, at the local, regional and national levels.
These initiatives provide educational opportunities, remove barriers to learning, and empower underserved communities by cocreating knowledge, finding workable solutions to economic and societal challenges, and enabling policymaking that truly benefits everyone involved.
About the project
Established in 2011, the CAER Heritage project is a collaborative effort between researchers at Cardiff University and various community groups, focusing on the often-overlooked Caerau Hillfort in West Cardiff.
The team has worked together to turn the 6,000-year history of the site, spanning the Neolithic, Iron Age, Medieval and Early Modern centuries, into a site of cultural and community importance. The team has connected locals and visitors with their shared past and created the conditions for continued preservation of the site in ways that benefit the locality.
The research team, led by Dr David Wyatt from Cardiff University, worked in partnership with Action in Caerau and Ely (ACE), a charity supporting the Welsh Government’s tackling poverty agenda. ACE has subsequently secured significant further investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund to build a permanent community heritage centre on the site.
The developments enabled by the original research continue to bring new life to the region by:
- providing essential community services
- designing learning and skills development opportunities to tackle long term unemployment
- enhancing the site for the community and visitors to enjoy
The centre is working towards financial self-sufficiency, and these plans include summer courses in archaeology for amateur enthusiasts.
Meaningful engagement
Children participating in an archaeological activity. Credit: CARE Heritage Project
One of the standout features of CAER Heritage project is the active involvement of community members in archaeological and historical research.
This initiative has created educational opportunities for people of all ages, with a section of programming and activities that make the most of museum learning, digital skills and ‘hands on’ archaeology.
Using the AHRC funding, the team has also run accredited adult learning courses as part of Cardiff University’s Live Local Learn Local scheme. The courses are designed to meet the needs of vulnerable groups living in and around Cardiff.
For the past 14 years, CAER Heritage, underpinned by the original AHRC research, has been at the forefront of learning with and creating for the community. In addition to the learning and skills courses for children, young people and adult learners, additional services for the older community and other uses are available.
Dave Horton, a Community Development Officer for ACE who worked on the original project, explains the value of the early collaboration with researchers:
When you bring that together, particular expertise and partners, you can do the kind of thing you’re looking at here. We wouldn’t have known where to begin with the archaeology and exploring history and involving people in that. The two coming together is where that dynamic works.
The hillfort: a community gem
The Caerau Hillfort is now a cherished gem of West Cardiff.
The centre helps with cleaning and studying items found during digs, keeps the Hillfort site clean and in good shape, and teaches old crafts like metalworking, pottery and woodworking.
CAER Heritage is a shining example of how community engagement and collaboration can bring history to life, fostering a deeper connection between the past and present.
An aerial view of an archaeological excavation site in the Caerau Hillfort. Credit: CARE Heritage Project
Top image: An aerial view of Caerau Hillfort in Wales. Credit: CARE Heritage Project