Home

Welcome to the dedicated website for the Contextualising Hume project, which ran from Summer 2018 to Spring 2022. The project was facilitated by the Hume Castle Preservation Trust and was funded by grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the Fallago Environment Fund. The project provided a range of archaeological activities over the course of three years, to research, excavate, and record, Hume Castle and its surrounding landscape, including the former surrounding village and associated graveyard. Each year consisted of a series of workshops, and a central, two-week field project held during the summer. The project engaged with members of the local community, school children, and local interest groups in order to provide opportunities to learn more about the history of Hume, and to develop and learn new skills. The archaeological work for the project was delivered by Heritage and Archaeological Research Practice.

The project, through publicity and public engagement, helped to improve awareness of the importance of Hume Castle and its landscape, with a key aim to provide a stimulating volunteer and visitor experience by making archaeology and history more accessible through practical engagement. This was fulfilled by hands on archaeological experiences (surveying, digging, recording, finds washing, cataloguing of finds, photography) as well as providing new links to heritage through non-traditional means, with a key focus on crafts.

The project has produced several archaeological reports on the findings of the excavation and survey work, as well as new interpretative information in the form of new interpretation panels (located in the grounds of Hume Castle, Hume Village, and Hume Cemetery) and new, free booklets providing historical background to the sites and details on the results of the project. The booklets are available at the new interpretation panels, as well as being available digitally here. The project produced a hand crafted Hume Castle, as well as a pop-up exhibition that was hosted in Kelso Town Hall in December 2021. The exhibition can also be viewed here.