21st August 2013, 08:24 PM
When this #freearchaeology hashtag came up on Twitter, I thought about my own experiences of looking for archaeological work back in the mid 1990s. When I was offered my place at Bournemouth University in the Summer of 1995 it came with the caveat that I had to undertake three weeks of archaeology / heritage work before I started. I was fortunate to find an excavation to work on. It was unpaid work, and my Summer job at a Supermarket covered the petrol money I needed.
In 1996 I attended my University training excavation for a month and then went on to spend a week with the charity 'Cathedral Camps' cleaning the interior of Bristol Cathedral. I slept, along with the other Male attendees in the Cathedral Chapter House, whilst the Females slept in a Dorm Room upstairs. We cooked on a rota, and again, my Summer job at a Supermarket covered the costs of travelling and of attending.
The following year, in 1997, in addition to volunteering with Cathedral Camps I felt I should gain some additional archaeological experience in order to make sure I had the skills required to find a job when I left University. I decided to try and find a suitable excavation, and was stunned to find that people wanted to charge me to attend their digs! Some of the prices were reasonable, and I rang 32 different excavations to get some idea of what my money would get me. Excavation number 33 was the Monmouth Archaeological Society.
Steve Clarke of the Monmouth Archaeology Society was offended that someone should pay to learn to excavate archaeology! So, I went to work there for three weeks, and stayed in the Local Youth Hostel. It was a fantastic experience and I'm glad I persisted to find something which turned out to be so worthwhile.
In 1996 I attended my University training excavation for a month and then went on to spend a week with the charity 'Cathedral Camps' cleaning the interior of Bristol Cathedral. I slept, along with the other Male attendees in the Cathedral Chapter House, whilst the Females slept in a Dorm Room upstairs. We cooked on a rota, and again, my Summer job at a Supermarket covered the costs of travelling and of attending.
The following year, in 1997, in addition to volunteering with Cathedral Camps I felt I should gain some additional archaeological experience in order to make sure I had the skills required to find a job when I left University. I decided to try and find a suitable excavation, and was stunned to find that people wanted to charge me to attend their digs! Some of the prices were reasonable, and I rang 32 different excavations to get some idea of what my money would get me. Excavation number 33 was the Monmouth Archaeological Society.
Steve Clarke of the Monmouth Archaeology Society was offended that someone should pay to learn to excavate archaeology! So, I went to work there for three weeks, and stayed in the Local Youth Hostel. It was a fantastic experience and I'm glad I persisted to find something which turned out to be so worthwhile.