Hey, we couldn’t resist this one – a school in Reading has come up trumps – a hoard of Roman coins has been discovered in its grounds! Roman coins shown here in situ – the scale is 30 cm. Courtesy of Reading Borough Council. Excavated Roman coins. Once excavated they will be sent for conservation and then to Reading Museum. Courtesy of Reading Borough Council. The Ridgeway Primary School are the lucky school in question. As part of development work at the school, archaeologis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The first two days of the Arbor Low Environs Project dig this year have been a resounding success. I’m not so much talking about the archaeology here – although I’m sure many exciting things will be unearthed as the days go by -no, what I am talking about are the school visits we have had so far. I have had the pleasure and privilege to introduce and re-introduce many young people and their teachers to Arbor Low, Gib Hill and the wonderful world of archaeology. The children (

The week beginning the 25th March 2012 is the first week of the ALEP excavations this year and we have invited local schools to come and join us. We are so pleased with the response, with enquiries from Monyash Primary School, Curbar Primary School, Harpur Hill Primary School, Fairfield Endowed CE Junior School and Buxton Infant School, as well as Melland High School in Manchester and the The Institute of Life-Long Learning at the University of Sheffield. In fact there is onl

The Drs Parker Heath are currently very busy organising this year’s archaeological investigations close to Arbor Low and Gib Hill. The licenses from English Heritage have arrived, permissions from landowners have been given, but most excitingly local schools are beginning to sign up to come and have a tour around the ancient monuments, visit the dig site and get their hands dirty! So far we have heard from Monyash Primary School, Curbar Primary School, and Harpur Hill Primary