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Nancy Detchon

Nov 30, 2014

Back to the Stone Age for Ormskirk!

Y3s at Aughton St Michaels CE Primary School in Ormskirk became archaeologists for the morning when they excavated artefacts from the Stone Age. Over three hours, the children were ‘trained’ to become archaeologists, to think like archaeologists and to understand how we excavate. Armed with these skills, they dug up objects from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic and analysed what they had found, thinking about what objects can tell us about how people lived in the pa

Nancy Detchon

Nov 19, 2014

Archaeology Day at Garstang

I love delivering Archaeology Days, because Archaeology Days allow time for me to really develop children’s interest and enable them to progress from one activity to another. Hopefully, by the end of the day they leave for home with a good grasp of what archaeology is, what it sets out to achieve and some information about the period they are studying, as well as smiling faces at a day well spent! One such day was had at Garstang Community Primary School in Lancashire, when w

Nancy Detchon

Oct 4, 2014

Third Year of the Trojan War!

After being invited back for the third year in a row, we are top news story on the Derby High School Website! Read all about it! http://www.derbyhigh.derby.sch.uk/ #workshop #excavation #school #KS3amp4 #artefact #stratigraphy #education #Archaeology #timeline #dig

Nancy Detchon

Jul 14, 2014

Anglo-Saxons at The Croft

Last Thursday, I returned to the Croft Primary School in Rugeley, Staffordshire, to deliver a workshop to Y5 to support the teaching of their ‘Treasure Island’ topic. Being only a few miles away from where the Staffordshire Hoard was found, meant that a focus on the Anglo-Saxons was perfect for this occasion. After considering what ‘treasure’ is, and discussing how even the most seemingly insignificant objects can be treasure for archaeologists, the children were ‘trained’ in

Nancy Detchon

Mar 25, 2014

Calling all KS2 teachers! Prehistory in the Primary Curriculum Online Survey

For the first time since the National Curriculum was put in place, prehistory is now part of the Primary History Curriculum. Of course, for us archaeologists this is good news; it is something for which the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) has been campaigning for years. Recently, a group of like-minded archaeologists and educators met at The Hive in Worcester, to discuss how best we might be able to support teachers in an area of the curriculum they may never have taug

Nancy Detchon

Mar 18, 2014

Time Detectives in the North East…

It was up to County Durham that I travelled last week, to meet the time detectives of The Links Primary School in Stockton-on-Tees, and what fantastic time detectives they were! I really love what I do and to hear the comments from the teachers that suggest they and their pupils love it as much as I do – well, there’s nothing better! This is what Miss Daly, one of the teachers involved, wrote to me regarding the presentation of the workshop: “Children warmed to you straight a

Nancy Detchon

Mar 18, 2014

KS1 Archaeology!

I had a brilliant time recently at St John’s Primary School in Sandbach Heath. I was thrilled by the sea of eager faces grinning up at me as I explained how archaeology was “rubbish” and demonstrated how archaeologists excavate artefacts. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, but I am repeatedly amazed at how children as young as 5 and 6 years old can engage with the subject of archaeology and contribute so thoughtfully to the workshops. I could tell you all about it

Nancy Detchon

Feb 22, 2014

Exciting Egyptians in Doncaster for KS1

What a great day we had at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Primary School in Doncaster! Recently back from excavating in Egypt ;-), Dr Catherine and Dr Ian were keen to train a new generation of archaeologists and Egyptologists. Starting with training in how archaeologists think and analyse evidence, followed by an activity teaching how archaeologists go about dating artefacts, the ‘trainees’ were soon ready to dig up Ancient Egyptian artefacts themselves. The training mu

Nancy Detchon

Jan 15, 2014

The Trojans back at Derby High School!

Well, ok, this workshop took place way back in September 2013, but I now have some photos to share with you and have a found a few minutes to sit down and write about it! The workshop, designed to support the Y9s topic on the Trojan War, followed much the same format as the previous year (see The Trojan War at Derby High School: The day began with the aim of introducing archaeology and the way archaeologists think with two activities – Archaeology is Rubbish and Archaeologis

Children, Archaeology and Unexpected Interpretations

Nancy Detchon

Dec 6, 2013

Children, Archaeology and Unexpected Interpretations

Below is the edited transcript of a presentation I gave at Dearne Valley Archaeology Day in 2012. I’ve also uploaded it as a PDF document onto Academia.edu. Children, Archaeology and Unexpected Interpretations The Teletubby House I recently read a book, Unquiet Pasts (Koerner & Russell 2010), which focussed on how different people engage with and use archaeology and heritage in today’s world. In a chapter discussing a long term project involving children in archaeology, Tho

“Archaeology Day was awesome, inspiring and amazing!”

Nancy Detchon

Nov 19, 2013

“Archaeology Day was awesome, inspiring and amazing!”

This was the conclusion of the girls at Northampton High School! Let me tell you a little more about it… Thursday 14th November saw me and fellow archaeologist Ian, travelling down to Northampton to deliver an Archaeology day to KS1 and KS2 pupils at Northampton High School. (Ian also happens to be my husband – for those of you who didn’t know). Despite the dreaded traffic on the M1 and an accident near Watford Gap attempting to scupper our efforts to get there, we were able

Nancy Detchon

Sep 24, 2013

Anglo-Saxon Workshop at Atherton

I returned to St Richard’s Primary School in Atherton last week to deliver an Anglo-Saxon archaeology workshop. After training the children how to think like archaeologists and helping them to understand concepts such as stratigraphy through a variety of activities, we began to excavate a range of Anglo-Saxon objects. After closely analysing our finds, ranging from pottery and animal bones to spearheads and jewellery, we were able to show each other what we had found. We eve

Nancy Detchon

May 30, 2013

Samian Ware Workshop preparations…

For the past few days, my house and garden has looked rather like a Samian Ware factory… For those of you who don’t know, Samian Ware is a distinctive type of pottery used across the Roman Empire. Its other name is Terra Sigillata and, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it is only British archaeologists that use the term Samian Ware. Why? Well, I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, the pottery is a glossy red slip-ware, sometimes plain but also decorated, and was used as tablewar

Nancy Detchon

Apr 17, 2013

Treasure Hunters

Recently, I was asked to work with a Y5 class at The Croft Primary School in Armitage, Rugeley, whose current topic was ‘Treasure Island’. As the school is only approximately 8 miles from where the Staffordshire Hoard was found, they had looked at this archaeological treasure quite closely and were now interested in finding out more about archaeology. Of course I said ‘yes’ to working with them, but didn’t want to encourage a belief that archaeology is all about finding trea

Nancy Detchon

Apr 16, 2013

Trojan War in Lancashire!

We took the Trojan War to Lancashire and gave pupils at Calder Vale St John’s and Scorton C of E Primary Schools a morning to remember. After a few tasks to encourage the children to think like archaeologists, that is exactly what they became, as they excavated items usually found in Late Bronze Age Greece and the Troad. The children also had the opportunity to handle genuine Mycenaean pots – yes, that’s right – pots that are over 3000 years old and which had been generously

Nancy Detchon

Mar 12, 2013

Gifted and Talented

Lately, I have had quite a few requests to work with gifted and talented youngsters and high achievers, with bookings from as far away as Hounslow. Archaeology is the perfect vehicle for stretching young minds, as some teachers have realised. Through archaeology we can ask basic epistemological questions – How is knowledge created? How do we know what we know about the past? Likewise, critical thinking can be practised as we assess our own interpretations and those of esta

Nancy Detchon

Mar 11, 2013

Twentieth Century Archaeology

I recently delivered a workshop to the whole of Brockwell Nursery and Infant School in Chesterfield. The theme was the 1920s onwards – not often a period of time that comes to mind when you think of archaeology. However, as I always say, archaeology is about the material culture of the past and, as such, everything up until yesterday is fair game! And what a great day we had. I think I have said this before somewhere, but I am always blown away by how much children as youn

Nancy Detchon

Dec 3, 2012

KS1 in Biddulph and Buxton

Working with KS1 children requires adapting a standard workshop without losing the integrity of a ‘genuine’ archaeological experience. In other words, I work hard to deliver workshops that are engaging and accessible to young minds, whilst not allowing it to turn into a ‘treasure hunt’ or ‘lucky-dip’ type of activity. It is also important not to limit children: I am very often amazed by the grasp some 4 & 5 year olds have on the concept of the past and how we can say someth

Nancy Detchon

Dec 3, 2012

Putting my new-found potting skills to the test!

I took my new found beaker-making skills with me when I last visited FitzHerbert Primary School in Fenny Bentley. Focussing the children on a particular task – in this case making Bronze Age beakers by making two thumb pots – really worked. The results were very rewarding, both for me as the facilitator of the session and for the children. If we’d had more time it may have proved useful to try two different techniques, coil-potting and thumb-potting (is there such a phrase

First attempt at making replica Bronze Age beakers…

Nancy Detchon

Nov 9, 2012

First attempt at making replica Bronze Age beakers…

Well, those of you who tweet, may have caught on to the fact that yesterday I began my first attempt at making replica Bronze Age beakers. I once had an email conversation with Graham Taylor of ‘potted history’ fame (http://www.pottedhistory.co.uk/Prehistoric_Pottery.html) about how Bronze Age potters created their beakers. He thought that they may have made two thumb pots – one with a hole in the bottom and one without – and then attached the two together, one on top of the

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