(Above) Children digging up a skeleton in a sandpit at Mid Summer Fayre, Castle Green, NAW 2006. Picture © Gloucester City Museums, Siriol Collins
Festival: The Festival of British Archaeology, various venues, July 28 – August 2 2009
More than 600 events are set to take place during this year's Festival of British Archaeology, the UK's biggest archaeological extravaganza.
Attractions range from foraging for secrets on the Thames foreshore to opportunities to join the excavation of a Victorian terraced house. There are also guided walks around the archaeological monuments of Cornwall and a visit to the dig of an 18th-century latrine. Many events have limited spaces, so booking is essential.
(Above) Roman re-enactment with Roman soldiers, National Archaeology Week. Picture © Milton Keynes Museum
The nationwide celebration, organised by the Council for British Archaeology, aims to encourage the public to visit sites of archaeological and historical interest and make the discipline as accessible as possible.
The CBA has also launched a brand new website allowing fans to search the programme by postcode, area of interest and date.
(Above) Microscope activity, Museum of London NAW event, 2007. Picture © Museum of London
The website is also home to the Festival newsletter, updating visitors on Festival news throughout the year.
The past two years have seen a 40% rise in the number of activities held by the Festival, and it is now seen as an important annual cultural heritage celebration.
(Above) Will Lord, flintknapper and archer, Creswell Crags Visitor Centre, NAW 2007. Picture © Oliver Brown, Creswell Heritage Trust
The CBA hopes the huge range of events this year will inspire the public to find out more about archaeological projects.
Straddling a swathe of historical periods at sites around the UK, highlights include an Egyptian-themed day organised by Harrogate Museum and Arts, a family archaeology day at Wallingford Museum in Oxfordshire, finds and archaeology fun in Chester and a walk in Westbury, Somerset, which promises investigation of evidence from the Ice Age through to the Cold War.
(Above) Archaeology Live event at Coalbrookdale, run by Ironbridge Archaeology. Picture © Will Mitchell, Archaeology Field Officer
For more information on the British Festival of Archaeology visit the Festival online.
