Bridging the gap between Creswell Crags and the local community through a community archaeology project

Creswell Crags, managed by Creswell Heritage Trust (CHT), is an enclosed limestone gorge on England’s Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire border and includes caves occupied during the Late Pleistocene. In 2023, the Creswell Volunteer Archaeology Project (CVAP), a collaboration between the University of Sheffield Department of Archaeology and CHT, successfully enacted a model of community-engaged archaeological fieldwork. One of the aims of the community project was to bridge the gap between Creswell Crags and the local community, particularly in the closest villages of Creswell and Whitwell, which are within the top 10% to 30% of the most socioeconomically deprived areas in England. The project involved recruiting a cohort of local residents to participate in the excavations and process excavated material, implementing pre- and post-excavation interviews and disseminating a public survey to community members to better understand and include their views on archaeology and Creswell Crags. This work culminated in an exhibition co-produced between Creswell Crags, the University of Sheffield and the local community participants. Overall, the 2023 CVAP work provides insights on good community engagement and co-production practices, democratising archaeology and museum practices and making archaeology more inclusive for socioeconomically deprived communities.