Digital Archaeology and Heritage of the Mau Mau Emergency

British colonial detention and works camps set up during the Mau Mau Emergency are estimated to have numbered over 100, yet today, many in the UK, Kenya, and beyond do not know where they are, or that they ever existed. In an ongoing effort to restore knowledge and awareness of this history, Institute researchers Gabriel Moshenska and Hannah McLean (MA Public Archaeology) have launched the first digital reconstructions of two of these sites: Mweru and Aguthi.

Used today as schools, these sites are harrowing reminders of the British counterinsurgency tactics used against the Mau Mau, and more broadly the world. Through fieldwork surveys, digital reconstructions, oral history interviews, and exhibitions, the collaborative team are aiming to preserve these important sites and ensure that these stories and experiences are not forgotten.

The project, which has been supported by a small grant from the UCL Centre for Critical Heritage Studies, corresponds to the centre's themes of Making Global Heritage Futures and Embracing the Archive, as well as broader emerging themes of Decolonising Heritage, Museums and Archaeology.

Further details

• BBC News
• Brits in Kenya Blog
• The Museum of British Colonialism
• African Digital Heritage