Archaeology

Welcome to the Archaeology Subject Advice page

Archaeology means studying how our ancestors lived. They might be very distant ones from 12,000 years ago or more, or they might be very close to the present time. For example, forensic archaeology is essential to contemporary crime investigations.

Planning laws, technology and biological sciences have changed the face of archaeology vastly in my lifetime. Most discoveries in the UK are made as a result of developers being required to fund exploration ahead of building work. Lidar surveys by drone do in minutes the work of weeks of footslog and paperwork, at a fraction of the cost, and DNA can throw light on ancient journeys.
Take a look at the young man excavated recently at Offord Cluny to learn about his very interesting journey https://the-past.com/feature/from-the-caucasus-to-cambridgeshire-retracing-the-story-of-offord-clunys-sarmatian-burial/

Growing up Human : Talk by Dr Brenna Hassett 6th March 2025, free to u3a members

The registration for the talk will open soon

Dr Brenna Hassett is a Lecturer in Forensic Osteology and Archaeology at the University of Central Lancashire, and Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum London.

She researches health and growth in the past through the evidence from skeletons and teeth, and is the author of the Times Top 10 Science Book of 2016 ‘Built on Bones: 15,000 years of Urban Life and Death’. Her most recent book ‘Growing Up Human: the evolution of childhood’ looks at the fascinating ways our species has diverged from our nearest relatives to create our unique human life course, with one of the longest childhoods on the planet.

What can the Archaeology Subject Adviser do for u3a members?

Help out if you're starting a group and want information or support
Provide practical advice about objects or sites or visits
Provide talks or other events that give news about the latest developments

Are excavations on offer?

There are lots of great excavations you can join in with in the UK, but we don't organise a u3a excavation.
If your u3a group is actively excavating a site or doing fieldwalking, feel free to stay in touch with news about how you're getting on.

2024 fieldwork calendars

Digventures https://digventures.com/calendar/?view=map
Council for British Archaeology https://www.archaeologyuk.org/get-involved/fieldwork-opportunities.html

My Archaeology journey

....began in the back garden, where as soon as I could toddle I was proudly digging up interesting stones, broken plant pots and worms. These bad habits led me to pursuing a degree in archaeology in the serene surroundings of Durham under the invigorating care of university's first woman professor, Rosemary Cramp. My working life became a mixture of fieldwork, museum work and teaching, based around north west England, as opportunities arose and family needs permitted.

Images names and captions

A well travelled amber ring

A well travelled amber ring Baltic amber, taken to northern italy to be carved into shape, worn by someone who lost it in Luguvalium on the western half of Hadrian's Wall