A LEVEL ANCIENT HISTORY STUDENTS VISIT COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGY TO GAIN PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

Six A Level Ancient History and Classical Civilisation students at New College had the opportunity to visit Cotswold Archaeology, who offer a full range of heritage and archaeological services from their Andover, Cirencester, Exeter, Milton Keynes and Suffolk offices.

The students who attended the visit are applying for a range of Archaeology-related courses at University, and were given the chance to gain practical experience in Cotswold Archaeology’s finds-processing departments, giving them an idea of the different career paths an Archaeologist can take.

They first shadowed Archaeologist Hazel, who demonstrated to the students a typical Archaeologist’s day in researching, excavating and processing artefacts. They also had the opportunity to work with Osteoarchaeologist Andy, in examining human and animal skeletal remains, including the 2,000-year-old remains of Roman soldiers to determine their cause of death. Afterwards, the students were given an exciting viewing of rare Roman and Medieval artefacts from Cotswold Archaeology’s recent excavations, before being given the chance to chat with the archaeologists about career prospects and routes into the industry. The visit was an incredible opportunity for students to gain a glimpse into what a career in Archaeology could entail. 

New College student Beth, who is applying for Egyptology and Archaeology at University, said: “I really enjoyed the level of interaction with artefacts; the archaeologists allowed us to handle and analyse recent discoveries from Roman sites. Hazel and Andy were both passionate and knowledgeable about their fields and we were encouraged to interact and think for ourselves, key attributes in a productive archaeologist.”

Nathan, who is applying for Palaeontology, said: “The trip overall was fantastic, and gave valuable information and knowledge as to how the archaeological industry functions, alongside providing excellent demonstrations in terms of how artefacts are found, identified and archived.”

The visit inspired the students to pursue Archaeology in their further education and careers. Thank you to Cotswold Archaeology for taking the time to share their knowledge and experiences with our students.