Archaeology from your armchair

FEATURE: ARCHAEOLOGY FROM YOUR ARMCHAIR Archaeology FROM YOUR ARMCHAIR

Surf the web this summer and get to grips with a whole host of archaeological activities that you can do from home. Dr Jon Berry, Cadw’s Senior Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Archaeology, has dug deep to uncover the best ‘finds’ to fire your imagination.

Watch and enjoy the Royal Archaeological Institute’s archive of recorded online debates and lectures. They cover the latest archaeological research on a wide range of chronological periods and subjects across the United Kingdom. Learn about Wat’s and Offa’s dykes, Roman camps and developments in our understanding of the British Neolithic, to name but a few, in these fascinating free videos.

royalarchinst.org/lectures

digventures.com/courses

Those of you itching to get your hands dirty may fancy the online courses offered by DigVentures. There is a subscription fee, but you can study courses on ‘how to do archaeology’, ‘how to do photogrammetry’ and ‘how to be a junior archaeologist’. The content of each course, approved by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, is user friendly and packed with videos, quizzes, case studies and top tips, together with hands-on activities that you can try at home.

Make the most of the Council for British Archaeology’s (CBA) landmark archaeological research publications, freely available as downloadable PDFs for a limited period of time. The well-researched reports, including many published for Wales, cover a broad range of subjects including medieval towns and rural settlement, industry, wetland archaeology and coastal and inter-tidal archaeology. You can also access in-depth studies of the Breiddin Hillfort, near Welshpool, Powys; Telford’s Holyhead Road; and the Walton Basin prehistoric landscape, Powys.

What’s more, the CBA’s practical handbooks, also available as digital downloads, are perfect ‘how to’ guides to help you get started in new subject areas. Learn about industrial, marine or garden archaeology, how to analyse historic landscapes or even record graveyards — there are plenty to choose from!

new.archaeologyuk.org/books-and-publications

Breiddin Hillfort, Powys © Crown copyright: RCAHMW

Sit back and listen to the series of informal online lectures being offered by Gwynedd Archaeological Trust. Based on recent work undertaken by the Trust and delivered by one of their senior archaeologists, subjects include Romans in Gwynedd and the Roman auxiliary forts in north Wales.

heneb.co.uk/newnews.html

Catch up on a series of free talks given by the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS). Bite-size, half-hour presentations on topics related to underwater archaeology, maritime heritage and foreshore archaeology are available to watch on NAS’s YouTube channel — youtube.com/user/nautarchsoc.

If the talks ‘whet’ your appetite, you could enrol on one of NAS’s interactive online courses (fees apply) suitable for anyone with an interest in archaeology. Study the Introduction to Maritime Archaeology and then choose between the Underwater Archaeology or Intertidal and Terrestrial Archaeology course, depending on whether your interest is diving or just getting your feet wet!

nauticalarchaeologysociety.org/elearning

Marvel at monumental 3D computer-generated models of historical artefacts and sites, produced by the Welsh archaeological trusts and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. The ability to manipulate and fly through these photogrammetric scans of real-world antiquities with just a swipe of your hand reveals outstanding detail and clarity at a time when physical access is limited.

There are many models available, but tasters include: excavated graves at Cwm Nash in the Vale of Glamorgan and a Roman dodecahedron from Cardiff Castle (Sketchfab. com/ggat); Second World War pillboxes and beautiful Neolithic polished stone axes (sketchfab.com/GAT2020); a shipwreck at Ynyslas, Ceredigion, and the deserted medieval village at St Ishmael, Pembrokeshire (sketchfab. com/Dyfed_Archaeological_Trust); and Iron Age coastal promontory forts and models of First World War U-boats (sketchfab.com/CBHC_ RCAHMW).

sketchfab.com

A circular pillbox in the Vale of Glamorgan (sketchfab.com/ggat).

unlovedheritage.wales

If you’re looking for an uplifting and thought-provoking experience, why not pay a visit to Cadw’s very own Unloved Heritage? website.

This Lottery funded project has brought together young people from across Wales to explore the heritage world around them and to tell the stories of their explorations. The content is enthusing and inspiring and the photography from the underground workshop at Dinas silica mine, Rhondda Cynon Taf, is simply breathtaking!

For other exciting resources to keep you busy, see our Stay at Home Heritage page on the Cadw website — cadw.gov.wales/stay-home-heritage. The information contained in this article was correct at the time of print. As a result of the ever-changing situation, we cannot guarantee that the web links will remain active for an unlimited period of time.