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.
