May 2003 Update

St Leonard's Hospital training excavation - make your booking now!

Bookings have been coming in steadily for the St Leonard's training excavation (8 July- 28 September 2003). If you are thinking of making a booking, especially for the earlier part of the dig, you should do so as soon as possible.This excavation is specially designed to train beginners aged 16 or over in archaeological fieldwork; there will also be children's activity days on site each Monday (see below). With a range of courses, length of courses and accommodation options, there should be something to suit most aspiring archaeologists. The site will be open to visitors every day.

Please click on items in the left-hand frame if you want to know more details about the excavation, the courses, children's activities and visiting the site, and to make a booking.

We have been keeping a web diary showing the progress of the excavation since it started in 2001, explaining the techniques and skills that are used along the way. See below for the latest update, and click on items in the right-hand frame if you would like to look at previous entries.

Children’s Activities

York Archaeological Trust regularly strives to prove that archaeology is not just for adults, but that it is also important to stimulate young minds. For the past two years, the St. Leonard’s excavation has found its place in this scheme by providing fun and exciting activities for children. Liz Papworth, a placement from Bradford University who is assisting with preparations for this year's children's activities, reports on this aspect of the project:

In 2002, 60 children from visited St. Leonard’s, as part of 3 Activity Days. A guided introduction to the site by one of our staff started off the day, allowing everyone to familiarise themselves with the trenches, walls and archaeologists. This was followed by the opportunity to get really dirty, as they became an archaeologist for the day. The rare chance to get their hands on real artefacts and help in the archaeological process by washing, sorting and recording gave a welcomed insight into a world that is often taped off to people their age. Particularly popular was "Spoil Heap Challenge" in which the children got the chance to look through soil from the trenches and find Roman pottery and all sorts of other objects. The prospect of getting to be an archaeologist for the day, whether they were age 5 or 15, was very popular. One trainee commented "I worked at the St. Leonard's dig as a student last year, and was really glad to see so many children enjoying archaeology. The children's responses seemed to be very positive." Indeed, when talking to a young boy at the A.R.C. recently I asked him whether he was interested in archaeology. He spent the next full twenty minutes telling me how wonderful his time at St. Leonard's was last year, and how he was hoping to go back again. Apparently he has visited almost everything to do with York's past since then. It would seem that not only do these Activity Days give the children the opportunity to get involved on just one day, they also have a much longer lasting effect.

We were overwhelmed with the enthusiasm shown to us last year and are hoping for an even better reception this time. For further information about the activities for this year please see the Children's Activities link on the left-hand menu.