One and two-week courses are designed to give beginners and those with some experience the opportunity to take part in a remarkable working environment and gain an insight into the work of an archaeologist. Whether you are looking to begin a career in archaeology or have simply always wanted to try it, these courses are a fantastic way to get started.
The All Saints, North Street excavation. Image courtesy of @watertowers
Summer Excavation 2019
2019 DATES TBC
Please email trainingdig@yorkat.co.uk for any further information and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.
A week long course runs from Monday to Friday and the working day is 9.30am until 5pm.
All courses come with a complimentary pass to all of the Jorvik Group attractions.
A Viking spindle whorl unearthed Summer 2014.
One week course
The one-week course will begin with an introductory talk about the site, excavation techniques and health and safety, and a site tour. Following this, the hands-on experience of excavation work begins. Time will be divided equally between three tasks:
- Basic digging techniques: trowelling, mattocking, shovelling etc.
- Site recording: planning, levelling, section drawing and context description.
- Finds processing: washing, sorting and environmental sample processing.
One hour seminars by specialists from York Archaeological Trust on topics such as archaeological conservation, artefacts, stratigraphy and pottery dating and recognition will take place on each day. An evening walking tour of the archaeology of York will be included, this provides an opportunity to put the archaeology you have been working on into its local and regional context.
Two week course
Week one of a two week course follows the same format as above, while the second week of the course is more focused on practicing and developing the skills acquired during week one.
Costs
Duration Price Returnee/Friends of YAT
| One week | TBC | TBC |
| Two weeks | TBC | TBC |
| Three weeks | TBC | TBC |
| Four weeks | TBC | TBC |
Please contact us by email if you would like to make a reservation enquiry. It is possible to do a course which is three or four weeks long, but please contact us beforehand to discuss what your training requirements are.
CIfA National Occupational Standards for Archaeological Practice
NOS are agreed statements of competence which describe the work outcomes required for an individual to achieve the standard expected of them in professional work. They are building blocks of S/NVQs but can be used in a number of other ways. They describe good practice in particular areas of work and can help to identify skills gaps and plan training. Archaeology Live! training courses are designed to compliment these guidelines and to instruct trainees in the core skills that are required on all archaeological projects. One week and longer courses comprehensively cover elements of CCSAPAC5, and will provide a valuable addition to any skills portfolio. Further details on these standards can be found at www.archaeologists.net/development/nos/updating
A useful way to document your progress as you learn new skills is to download our Archaeology Live Skills Checklist.
We have a lower age limit of 16. This is dropped to 14 if accompanied by a parent guardian who is also completing a course.
Booking forms will be provided when dates/course places have been agreed and reserved.
E-mail is preferred, however, if you don’t have email access please phone (office hours Mon-Fri 9am to 3 pm).
E-mail: trainingdig@yorkat.co.uk
Mobile: +44 (0) 7908 210026
The 2015 week nine team.
April 16, 2015 at 6:47 pm
I would like to book a one week course from Monday 6th July to Friday 10th July.
Thank you!
April 16, 2015 at 7:43 pm
Hi Emma,
No worries, I’ll reply via email.
Cheers,
Arran
October 13, 2015 at 3:47 pm
Will you be offering courses for 2016 as well? Would it be possible for a university student studying the Roman era through the early medieval period to slightly tailor a week-long or two-week-long course?
Thanks. 🙂
October 27, 2015 at 2:56 pm
Hello Amanda, thanks for getting in touch. We will indeed be up and running next year, the info is on the front page of the website. We’ll be digging features of various periods, and can tailor things sometimes depending on requirements. Send us an email via trainingdig@yorkat.co.uk with what you would be hoping to tailor and we’ll see what we can do.
All the best,
Arran
January 5, 2016 at 3:35 pm
Hi, I attended a weeks training dig at Nottingham castle last year and am wondering if you were intending to repeat this dig this year.
June
January 7, 2016 at 2:31 pm
June – We are not sure what the York Archaeological Trust Trent & Peak team in Nottingham have planned regarding archaeological training for next year. They had a successful season last year and will be running any project under a different setup than Archaeology Live! umbrella next time round.
I guess the best thing to do would be to keep an eye on their web and facebook pages;
– http://www.tparchaeology.co.uk/index.htm
– https://www.facebook.com/WeDigTheCastle/
January 12, 2016 at 5:40 pm
Hi, do you provide accommodation for the duration of the excavation for people who do not live near York? Thanks!
January 13, 2016 at 9:04 am
Hi Denisa. As York has such a wide range of accommodation options, from budget hostels to luxury hotels, we’ve found that people prefer to arrange their own accommodation as they can find something that suits their own preferences. There’s a quick guide to your options here: http://archaeologylive.org/15/accommodation-in-york/
If you’d like to book a place, or have any further questions, email us via trainingdig@yorkat.co.uk
Cheers,
Arran
March 13, 2016 at 8:25 am
Hello me and my friend where thinking of doing a week course but don’t live that near to it is there any accommodation that can be included with it. Or do you know any nearby place we could arrange accommodation ourselves. Thank you
Hope
March 27, 2016 at 12:31 pm
Hi Hope,
York has a wide range of accommodation options and we’ve found that it is easier for people to arrange their own accommodation as they can find something that suits their own preferences. There’s a quick guide to your options here: http://archaeologylive.org/15/accommodation-in-york/
If you’d like to book a place, or have any further questions, email us via trainingdig@yorkat.co.uk
March 7, 2018 at 8:51 pm
Hi Arran, hope you are well now. Can you please advise dates to me when you have so we can look at plans. All the best from sunny nz Gina
May 25, 2018 at 9:50 am
Hi Gina,
Sorry it’s taken so long to get back to you on the blog, our email notifications about comments don’t seem to be coming through but I’m pretty sure we’ve given you all the details via email since you posted this?
Katie