Archaeology Field School
Discover, excavate and analyse a medieval site from the Anarchy period.
Archaeology Field School on film
Watch a clip from the BBC series Digging for Britain (© BBC and Rare TV), featuring students from our Archaeology Field School and its academic lead, Dr Stuart Prior.
Programme dates | Sunday 16 June to Saturday 29 June 2024 |
Programme fee and discounts | £2,995 What's included We offer a 10% discount for early-bird applicants who apply by Friday 1 March 2024 and to students from International Partner Universities and Study Abroad student mobility partners. Students from our partner institutions who apply to our study abroad programmes through an agent will not be eligible to obtain a fee discount. |
Credits | You will receive 10 academic credits when you complete the programme. This is roughly equivalent to 5 ECTS credits or 3 US semester credits. |
Early-bird application ends | Friday 1 March 2024 |
Closing date for all applications |
End of Thursday 2 May 2024: Applications for this programme have now closed. You can register an interest for our 2025 programme using the button above. Places are limited and offers for programme places are made on a first-come, first-served basis. |
Who it's for
The Archaeology Field School is open to international students with or without previous site-based experience. Our expert faculty staff will help you to develop your excavation, post-excavation analytical, anthropological, and archaeological skills.
What you will learn
Together we will uncover an exciting and important moment in British history. You will learn how to apply anthropological archaeology theory through practical experience. The Archaeology Field School will teach you to critically assess an archaeological site within its historical and physical landscape and analyse your excavated finds.
Academic programme
Over the course of the summer school you will:
- spend seven days on site, gaining hands-on technical training by excavating and processing what you find;
- learn to use cutting-edge equipment to record, discover, and understand archaeology and our past;
- learn how to process and catalogue archaeological material discovery to deposition, including washing, identification, and cataloguing;
- develop a range of career-ready skills including archaeological survey, archaeological excavation, and recording techniques such as archaeological drawing methods, the use of record sheets and the documentation of finds;
- learn how to assess the significance of an archaeological site within its heritage setting in general, and that of the medieval landscape of Gloucestershire in particular;
- understand how to connect material culture with written records;
- learn how to describe and explain the chronological relationships between various archaeological deposits;
- develop your teamwork and communication skills.
You can read the course description, aims, intended learning outcomes, and teaching and assessment information in our Unit Catalogue.
Skills Passport
We use the archaeological skills passport (http://www.archaeologyskills.co.uk/) to help our Field School students prepare a guided pathway to a career in archaeology.
While working on the Lower Hazel archaeological site you will be learning a variety of skills. These will be recorded and validated by members of staff, as part of a scheme linked to one promoted by the British Archaeological Jobs and Resources website (BAJR).
This record can then be used when approaching commercial archaeological field units for paid employment in the summer or after graduation. There are numerous skills that you can gain (see http://www.archaeologyskills.co.uk/project/skills-passport/ for details) and the skills passport enables you to chart your skillset, your projects and professional development, so that you are as prepared as you can be for a career in archaeology.
Field work and physical activity
This summer school is a field-based programme using a live archaeological dig site. Please be aware that:
- this summer school includes physically demanding excavations on a full-time basis;
- you may be asked to work outside in varied weather conditions;
- you must follow all directions for site safety and protocols for your own safety and for the safety of others around you;
- you will be asked to bring your own suitable clothing and footwear.
Email bristol-summer@bristol.ac.uk if you have any questions about the physical nature of this summer school.
Programme timetable
Find out more about your summer experience by viewing our Archaeology Field School 2024 draft programme timetable (PDF, 195kB). Please note that this timetable is subject to change.
If you need to view the programme outline in another format, email bristol-summer@bristol.ac.uk.
Project and site information
Project title
Excavating the Medieval Anarchy Period in South Gloucestershire, England
Project leader
Dr Stuart J. Prior
Project description
The summer school forms part of a five-year training and community research project called the Hazel Anarchy Research Project (HARP), which is based in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology. HARP provides students with practical archaeological skills and experience within the context of the social dynamics of the medieval Anarchy period.
The Anarchy in the UK (1135–1153 CE), was a time of rivalry, fear, and violence, between the sides of Empress Matilda and King Stephen for the throne of England and Normandy. The story started with the drowning of Henry I's only legitimate son William Adelin in a shipwreck, and Henry's attempts to install his daughter Matilda as Queen. His nephew, Stephen of Blois, seized the throne with the help of his brother, the Bishop of Winchester.
Barons of the north, Welsh leaders, and Scottish invaders were further perplexing the story in the early days as all sought to increase their respective positions, before Matilda, with the help of her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, decided to invade England across the sea in 1139.
Matilda then launched an all-out campaign to win back the crown, plunging the country into a civil war. In response to the crisis, nobles built still more castles, and rivals to the king set up their own mints and produced new coinage. Churches were fortified and the peasantry suffered deprivation as armies crisscrossed the country, ravaging estates and burning property.
We provide the best possible hands-on technical and academic training for students from around the world. With your participation in HARP you will learn not only about the real stories that influenced major modern TV shows, but you will also learn excavation techniques and use cutting-edge equipment to record, discover, and understand archaeology and our past.
Archaeological site information
The primary focus is a T-shaped building with several rooms, possibly from two construction phases, and several smaller, stand-alone structures. Pottery and coins unearthed during early community excavations and an assessment of the structural remains date the surviving phase of the complex to between the late 11th and mid-12th century AD.
In 2023, an earlier phase of the site was uncovered during excavations, dating back to the late Saxon period, with a large ditch undercutting the Norman Hunting Lodge and discovery of a Saxo-Norman post-built structure, pushing the dating of the site back to around 1000AD.
To date, archaeological research of this period has been focused on large fortifications and castles. This site is therefore a unique opportunity to record the social dynamics between rural populations that supported the different parties during the Anarchy and additionally provides a chance to learn more about the late Saxon period in England.
The site is also in an area with a strong Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman presence, and we expect to find things from these periods.
More information
Learn more about our Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, where you will be based.
Entry requirements
You must meet all of these requirements to be eligible for the Archaeology Field School:
Study level | Currently studying at undergraduate level |
Subject requirements | We welcome applications from all majors, but the summer school is particularly suited to anthropology, archaeology, geography, art history, history, sociology, conservation and heritage, classics and museum studies majors. |
Academic requirements | GPA equivalent to 60–63% on the UK scale, C on the ECTS scale, or 3.0 on a 4.0 GPA scale |
English language requirements |
If English is not your first language, you need to meet our English language profile C. You can view the tests and levels we accept by visiting our Profile C language requirements page and selecting the 'English Language Proficiency Tests' tab. |
Age | 18 or over |
Why choose a Bristol Summer?
Study at a top-10 UK university and explore one of the UK’s most exciting cities. Programme fee includes accommodation and social programme.
Contact us
You can email or phone us if you have any questions about the course or your eligibility.
- Email: bristol-summer@bristol.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)117 455 3950