Community archaeology - Excavation at Rufford

Nottinghamshire County Councils Community archaeology Team will be running a volunteer excavation at Rufford between 1st and 12th July this year (excluding weekends).  The first week will be run as a field school, and the second week will be a general volunteer dig.  No experience is necessary and spaces are very limited.  See below for more details.

Archaeological Field School - Mon 1st to Fri 5th July

 This week is ideal for people who want to get a proper introduction to professional excavation techniques.  They will be excavating the foundations of an ornamental gateway at the north end of the Broad Drive, near to the mill.  This is part of a project to preserve the remaining stonework with a view to potentially reinstating the ornamental gates.  The dig day will commence at 9.30am and finish at 4pm, with time for lunch in the middle.

If you wish to sign up to the field school you must be able to come for all 5 days.  If you have been on one of their field schools before you are welcome to come again, but priority will be given to people who haven't attended one of our Field Schools previously.

Volunteer Excavation - Mon 8th to Fri 12th July

This week is for anyone to join in with, although it may not be suitable for young children (please get in touch if you have children who would like to participate).  The excavation during this week will be looking at a disused water channel that may have a medieval origin.  They will also be looking at some of the former garden features to see if we can see evidence of their layout.  The dig day will commence at 9.30am and finish at 4pm, with time for lunch in the middle.

You can come for as many or as few days as you like.  No experience is necessary, and places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

If you have any questions, or would like to book on to either of the above activities, please get in touch at community.archaeology@nottscc.gov.uk or on 0115 969 6525. 

Please keep in mind that excavation is a physical activity, and they will not be doing post processing (pot washing etc) on site.  If you are interested in helping out with post processing activities, such as pot washing or data entry, please get in touch with them to see what opportunities we currently have.