Section G · Sectors within the historic environment

G 2 · Archaeological sites

Archaeologists and education

Most archaeologists are passionate about education and are evangelical in their desire to communicate the pleasures to be derived from studying, enjoying and protecting the historic environment.

They believe that archaeology is fun; that it teaches people to take the long view, rather than being short-term in their understanding of contemporary issues; that it is an integrative subject, combining science and humanities, and the natural and built environments; and that a knowledge of archaeology brings landscapes and townscapes to life – equipped with an archaeological eye, you can read them like a history book.

One of the reasons why archaeologists wish to share the subject is the belief that people will be less willing to see archaeology destroyed by threats from agriculture, land drainage, forestry, road building and development if they understand the historic environment. Understanding leads to a sense of the value of the historic landscape and a desire to halt the impoverishing effects of badly planned development. People who care about the historic environment are more likely to participate in local democracy and speak out against the unnecessary destruction of an irreplaceable resource.

Because of their zeal, archaeologists have achieved some remarkable successes in education. The number of people undertaking formal archaeological education has risen slowly but consistently over the last thirty years. This year, some 2,500 people will take a GCSE, AS or A-level exam in archaeology.

There are thriving departments of archaeology at all the UK’s leading universities, and around 2,000 people graduate every year with an archaeological degree. Around 30% go on to further research or an archaeological career.

Council for British Archaeology and other bodies

Outside schools and universities, the organisation that perhaps works hardest for archaeological education is the Council for British Archaeology, whose members embrace the spectrum of professionals and amateurs/volunteers. The CBA employs a full-time Education Officer. The CBA publishes booklets such as Archaeology in the English National Curriculum and Teaching the Past, which illustrate good practice and show how archaeology can be incorporated into school teaching. It publishes a guide to all the UK educational institutions that teach archaeology, including WEA programmes and extra-curricular/extra-mural study programmes. It sits at the hub of a network of educators and organises regular workshops and conferences to increase awareness of good practice in addressing archaeology within formal education. It works hard as a member of the QCA history subject association to keep archaeology on the broader educational agenda.

The work of the CBA is complemented by the major archaeological units and the Institute of Field Archaeologists, whose members count education and outreach as a core part of their work. They are lobbying Government to recognise this task in redrafting the guidance that Government gives to local authorities on the role of archaeology. At present, planning guidance requires developers to pay for the excavation and recording of nationally significant archaeology that they destroy, but not to pay for the material to be studied and published.

Popularity of archaeology

One notable recent success is the popularity of TV programmes on archaeology. Time Team is one of Channel 4’s most popular programmes, partly because of its focus not just on the finds but on the process of excavation, and how archaeologists dig strategically to answer specific questions. The same focus characterises BBC programmes such as Time Flyers and Meet the Ancestors, whilst thematic series such as Blood of the Vikings, Britain BC, Where do we Come From? and the Seven Ages of Britain have given viewers an insight into areas of Britain’s history not well covered by the school syllabus.

The makers of all these programmes worked very closely with archaeologist advisers and presenters allowing the archaeological profession to channel its scarce resources into an area with a major educational impact. However, these programmes fuel an appetite for public participation that the profession has yet to cater for satisfactorily. It is here that serious issues emerge to do with capacity, funding and the place of archaeology in education and lifelong learning. While archaeology is quite good at catering for people who want to take a deep interest in the subject there are real problems in providing opportunities for people to encounter archaeology at first hand and in catering for mass interest.

A start has been made, and here are some examples of recent initiatives:

The Big Dig

Time Team’s experiment in mass archaeology last year resulted in 10,000 households taking part in small trial excavations in their own back gardens all over the UK. Channel 4 has yet to reveal how it intends to develop the potential for mass archaeology that the Big Dig proved to exist.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme

This is a voluntary recording scheme for archaeological objects found by members of the public. Currently funded by the HLF, it employs a network of over 30 finds liaison officers whose job is to help people identify and understand the many thousands of archaeological objects discovered every year by metal detector users and by people walking or gardening. The liaison officers spend most of their time visiting schools, clubs and communities to give talks and encourage people to report finds. They play a key role as ambassadors and teachers, as well as finds specialists. This well-organised scheme is the nearest we have to a network of dedicated community outreach officers.

Young Archaeologists Club

Run by the CBA, the YAC currently has 69 branches around the UK. Club branches provide an opportunity for young people aged nine and above to find out more about their local archaeology and get involved in archaeological projects: last summer, fieldwork undertaken by the YAC on Dartmoor resulted in the discovery of previously unknown Bronze Age landscape features.

Taster days

Several archaeological units including those working in Chester, Canterbury, Colchester and parts of Yorkshire, offer special taster days when members of the public can experience work as an archaeologist. Demand always outstrips supply.

Training digs

The CBA advertises places available for volunteers and trainees on excavations around the country. The demand is always overwhelming, with priority given to people who are studying archaeology and who need to take part in a training dig to earn credits for their course.

Local societies

Some local archaeological societies are particularly active in organising opportunities for fieldwork and excavation. Surrey and Yorkshire have very strong amateur groups, who undertake valuable research work, and offer opportunities for people to learn about archaeology.

Community archaeologists

Some enlightened local authorities employ community archaeologists to undertake a range of community liaison tasks, as part of their remit to consult local communities on the impact of planning proposals and development, and their duties under PPG16 to communicate the results of archaeology undertaken in the public interest. Some have an even more specific role. In Herefordshire, for example, community archaeologists work with local farmers to help them understand the archaeology of their farms and thus adjust their practice to protect valuable archaeological resources, historic buildings and historic landscapes. They also help farmers obtain funding and grants under DEFRA whole-farm and rural enterprise schemes.

Archaeological Resource Centres

York Archaeological Trust pioneered the creation of an archaeological archive and laboratory that also serves as an educational facility: the ARC (Archaeological Resource Centre) makes use of a redundant church in York and is open to the public as well as to school and community groups who learn about archaeological discoveries in the city and are encouraged to handle materials and understand what archaeologists can learn from them. The London Archaeological Archive and Resource Centre has gone even further in having a clear community focus, with lectures, tours, handling days, school visits and an open door policy for anyone who wishes to study material in the vast collection that has resulted from 100 years of London archaeology.

The Reticulum project

Perhaps the most successful archaeological schools projects is the Reticulum project. Reticulum (Latin for ‘net’, as in Internet) is an innovative way of engaging children by using archaeology and IT to awaken children’s interest in their past, particularly the history of the Romans in Northumberland.

Antiquities staff work with partner schools in Northumberland, in the museum and the classroom, to give children the opportunity to handle artefacts and explore historical themes and ideas. Between school sessions and museum visits, the children use e-mail to consult the Museum’s archaeology staff and work with other schools in the region.

Reticulum is an integrated learning resource, usable by families and schools alike. The lively website featuring the children’s artwork presents high quality information in an exciting format. The Teachers’ Resource Pack designed to be used in conjunction with the website contains teaching modules complete with activity ideas, resource sheets and support materials enabling teachers to teach Roman history and archaeology at KS2 in and out of the classroom.

Teachers report using this methodology to teach other periods of history, with excellent results. The Project has stretched and stimulated children of all abilities increasing their confidence to question the evidence and has encouraged them to develop their own opinions about the broader issues of their past and its presentation. OFSTED inspectors have reported a measurable improvement in literacy and numeracy attainment in schools in the area and teachers have confirmed that this improvement is almost entirely due to work with the Reticulum Project.

Flag Fen, Cambridgeshire – Britain’s Bronze Age Centre

Flag Fen organises a multitude of activities and workshops for general visitors and schools in an education centre. Activities range from mock archaeological digs, where pupils unearth artefacts to reconstruct the daily lives of a past society, to storytelling sessions. Workshops such as sword-casting and basketry are all based on archaeological evidence. Although the Bronze Age is not part of the National Curriculum, Flag Fen has successfully got round this by using selected themes in History, Science, Design, Geography and Technology.

Building on this achievement

This snapshot of current educational activity reveals that there is a rich diversity of educational initiatives within the archaeological community, and plenty of evidence that the sector is giving a high priority to education. They prove the determination of the sector to make a difference, and fulfil the political imperative to prove that archaeology is popular and relevant to contemporary society.

But this does not tell the whole story. Those who work within archaeology would argue that the sector is overstretched and that there is a huge mismatch between the scale of the task and the resources available. As part of the solution, the following have been proposed.

Training

The effective integration of archaeology into the classroom can only be achieved if teachers themselves have a knowledge of archaeology. There are two ways to achieve this:

Firstly, to remove the barriers that prevent archaeology graduates from being accepted on to teacher training courses. To qualify for a place on a PGCE course, it is necessary to have a degree in a curriculum subject – since archaeology is not such a subject, the offer of a teacher training place is at the discretion of the teacher training institution. This anomaly cries out for reform.

Secondly, to support and strengthen the popular history teaching courses that English Heritage runs for newly qualified teachers. The demand for places on these courses always exceeds supply.
Those archaeologists who do work in education and outreach are not given formal encouragement in developing their skills. A formal training programme would help make everyone involved more effective and spread the lessons learned from successful projects, such as Reticulum.

The curriculum

The natural place for archaeology in the curriculum is in the history syllabus. Prehistory plays no part in the history curriculum in England, which begins with the Romans. In Wales and Scotland, on the other hand, the history curricula begin with the dawn of settlement and properly integrate prehistory. Archaeology and the historic environment used to be a popular and central part of the geography syllabus, with landscape history and historical geography modules encouraging students to study the evolution of the landscape and to undertake fieldwork and primary research in their own community. Today geography tends to focus on development issues and to ignore the past. That results in an imbalance that needs to be corrected, since an understanding of the past is essential to understanding the present.

Access to archaeology

A recent Council for British Archaeology survey reveals a hunger for hands-on participation in local archaeology.

Where health and safety is not an issue, more should be done to inform and involve the local community in all excavations. Not only should tours and open days be a part of project planning, but a special effort should be made to work with local schools. This is an area where the CBA, as the umbrella body for archaeology, or the IFA, as the professional body, should be encouraged to issue guidance and promote best practice.

Model projects

There is no reason why schools and community groups should not undertake their own archaeology and fieldwork. The Museum of London Archaeology Service has published a research framework outlining possible projects, with many suitable for community involvement. Community archaeology is relatively new, however, and there is a need for practitioners to share their experiences.

The Gateway to England project will ask why Richborough and East Kent were chosen as a Roman invasion base in the first century AD, as the context for the earliest Anglo-Saxon settlements from the early fifth century and similarly for the Augustinian mission to convert the English to Christianity in 597.

A key aim of the project is to integrate professional, academic and amateur archaeologists into one highly focused project involving fieldwork geophysics, excavation, environmental survey and finds assessment – all designed to map the region’s pre-Roman, Roman and post-Roman settlement and landscape organisation and to understand the special character of East Kent as the Gateway to England.

Much of the field research and excavation will be undertaken by members of local history and archaeology societies, metal detectorists and volunteers from local schools, colleges and community groups. This will provide an opportunity for hundreds of people to gain their first experience of archaeology and then decide whether they wish to go further and how far.

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On this page

	Archaeologists and education
	Council for British Archaeology and other bodies
	Popularity of archaeology
	The Big Dig
	The Portable Antiquities Scheme
	Young Archaeologists Club
	Taster days
	Training digs
	Local societies
	Community archaeologists
	Archaeological Resource Centres
	The Reticulum project
	Flag Fen, Cambridgeshire – Britain’s Bronze Age Centre
	Building on this achievement
	Training
	The curriculum
	Access to archaeology
	Model projects

'Ripley Castle has belonged to the Ingilby family since 1308/9, and we still live here, the slightly shellshocked custodians of 700 years of history.'
Sir Thomas and Lady Ingilby