Birth of an Skill based Archaeology Society
by Gary Mills
After years of working in commercial archaeology and volunteering at numerous sites, I’ve observed a significant demand among volunteers and graduates for skills in archaeological excavation.
The challenges in learning how to draw a section, use a dumpy level, or complete a site register can stem from various factors, such as the limited time and opportunities on-site to equip volunteers with the necessary skills to contribute effectively. During my degree, I observed a significant gap in practical archaeology training, which inspired me to establish a society focused on practical skills in archaeology, offering opportunities to learn and practice these essential skills.
As a result, I started a Facebook group for the society, which since its inception now totals to over 1200 members – showing a keen interest from the local community in archaeology. Since starting the society, we now have a Secretary, Treasurer and another member who will be assisting with communications and organisational support. We proudly hosted our inaugural meeting for the society on the 17th October at Parke Estate in Bovey Tracey, kindly made free for us by the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) archaeologist Andy Crabb.
We hosted our first lecture by Lee Bray, another DNPA archaeologist. Due to the size of the venue, we were limited on seats with a maximum of 80 being able to attend. During the meeting we asked our new members to write down what they wanted from us as a society.
As anticipated, the majority of responses expressed a desire for practical skills training, ranging from excavation techniques to more specialised areas, in addition to conventional society activities like lectures and guest speakers. It was heartening to see such enthusiasm for archaeology within our community, coupled with a strong preference for actual hands-on engagement and training.
Going forwards, we have many ideas on how to provide practical skills education to our up and coming archaeologists.
Workshops covering integral on-site skills such as section and plan drawings, filling in context sheets, identifying soil types as well as then progressing onto excavation-related activities.
We also have a few contacts who would love to provide their expertise; a geophysicist who has kindly offered to teach certain geophysical methods such as soil resistivity, a metal detectorist who would like to teach people how to detect properly. Other areas we also want to cover are experimental archaeology, field walking and surveying.
We also aim to establish partnerships with various institutions, including museums and universities, to facilitate the knowledge and skill shares among diverse individuals and groups. Additionally, we are keen to explore publications by creating reports from each excavation and providing members with the chance to assist in the production to a professional standard, given that such opportunities are scarce prior to working in a commercial setting.
In developing these skills for individuals who join we hope these members will take their experiences with them and provide a positive impact, whether that is as a volunteer, a student, or as a commercial archaeologist.
We want to make sure that there is as little financial burden on the society members as possible, by balancing our membership costs while still having enough to pay for insurance, equipment, speakers, venues and events.
However, we are just starting out, and some equipment can be quite expensive for a small society to start with. To give our society members the best chance at developing their skillsets for the future, we would like to ask that if any of you have or know of any spare equipment that you would be willing to donate – trowels, mattocks, hand shovels, buckets, permatrace, pencils, cameras, GPS (just to name a few!) – please do get in contact with us.
Our contact details are: Facebook – Teignbridge District Archaeological Society (group) Email – teignarch@gmail.com
