Archaeology Subject Advice
Contact the Subject Adviser, Maggy
Archaeology means studying how our ancestors lived. They might be very distant ones from 12,000 years ago or more, or they might be very close to the present time. For example, forensic archaeology is essential to crime investigations nowadays.
Looking for resources or inspiration? Try the back-catalogue of lectures from the Vindolanda Trust https://www.vindolanda.com/lectures
Planning laws, technology and biological sciences have changed the face of archaeology vastly in my lifetime:
- most discoveries in the UK are made as a result of developers being required to fund exploration ahead of building work
- Lidar surveys by drone do in minutes the work of weeks of footslog and paperwork, at a fraction of the cost
- DNA can throw light on the ancient journeys of humans, animals and plants
- Take a look at the young man excavated recently at Offord Cluny to learn about his very interesting journey https://the-past.com/feature/from-the-caucasus-to-cambridgeshire-retracing-the-story-of-offord-clunys-sarmatian-burial/
What can the Archaeology Subject Adviser do for u3a members?
- Help out if you're starting a group and want information or support
- Provide practical advice about objects or sites or visits
- Provide talks or other events that give news about the latest developments
Are excavations on offer?
There are lots of great excavations you can join in with in the UK, but we don't organise a u3a excavation. Why not?
- Ethically, we are not (as yet) in partnership with established archaeology archives who would care for the items we might find, and the reports we might write.
- Members have widely varied degrees of health, which excavation would test to the max
- Excavation is very expensive and we have no budget
But apart from that...if you want to join in an excavation......
Fieldwork calendars can be found across all kinds of archaeology media and publications eg
- Council for British Archaeology Council for British Archaeology
- Current Archaeology and their online magazine The Past https://the-past.com/
- Digventures https://digventures.com/
- Ancient Odysseys https://www.ancientodysseys.com/
- Many more private companies and societies offer places on training digs - I have not found any that that offer free places!
- Some lucky regions have vibrant archaeology societies, such as Kent Archaeological Society https://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/
- And if your u3a group is actively excavating a site or doing fieldwalking, feel free to stay in touch with news about how you're getting on
Videos
Dr Brenna Hassett of the University of Central Lancashire gave a wonderful talk to u3a members in March 2025 on human childhood and forensic anthropology. Click on the image to watch it (45 mins)