D is for… Dirty Weekends

With the aid of blogger and archaeologist HollyMae Steane Price, we are working our way through the alphabet, looking at the A-Z of archaeology, one letter at a time. Today’s letter is D…

Do you ever find yourself at a loose end of a weekend? Do you regularly feel the urge to get ‘down and dirty’ with the past, rush to unsheathe your trowel and then realise you’ve got nowhere to go a’diggin’?

Well, fret not; DigVentures’ Dirty Weekends give you the opportunity to experience a whole weekend of archaeology, giving you the chance to be the hat wearing, whip crackin’ gallivanting superhero of archaeology you’ve wanted to be since you saw that 1981 film…

So what can you expect on a Dirty Weekend? Well, archaeology, adventure and awesomeness of course! A Dirty Weekend will coincide with a DigVentures excavation which, over the last two years, have been at the iconic Flag Fen and the jaw-dropping Leiston Abbey. And there’s no need to worry if you’ve had no archaeological experience in the past; archaeologists on the DigVentures team will get you up to speed in no time.

Working on one of these Dirty Weekends is also a great way to build up your excavation experience; I know that the work I’ve done on sites during my spare time has allowed me to build my skills and gain confidence when it came to digging – especially when on my first ever commercial excavation. I even think that my excavation experience actually helped me secure a place at university, so get stuck in, learn from the professionals and have a memorable Dirty Weekend with DigVentures on an iconic archaeological site.

NB – Indiana Jones fancy dress is not a requirement (but can sometimes help).

HollyMae Steane Price graduated with a BSc in Archaeology from Cardiff University and now holds an IfA workplace learning post as a Trainee Heritage Officer at the Brecon Beacons National Park

Twitter: @sapphonica

Personal Blog: http://hspheritage.com/