Historic England opens bursary scheme for summer archeology dig at Vindolanda

Historic England is giving a £10,000 grant, which will fund fund ten bursary places on the 2023 digs at the Vindolanda Roman settlement near Hexham. Credit: Vindolanda Trust

Applications have opened for a new bursary scheme for young people in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland to take part in an archaeological dig in the summer.

Historic England is giving a £10,000 grant, which will fund fund ten bursary places on the 2023 digs at the Vindolanda Roman settlement near Hexham.

Part of the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage site, Vindolanda is regarded as the most exciting archaeological site in Europe with its wealth of archaeological remains and ongoing excavations, and places on the dig always sell out very quickly. 

Ten bursary places are available on the 2023 digs at the Vindolanda Roman settlement near Hexham. Credit: Vindolanda Trust

This demand, and the costs of taking part, is a barrier to participation to some young people, particularly those from urban communities along the Wall.

Both Historic England and the Vindolanda Trust have aimed to tackle this issue with the scheme as well as address the anticipated shortage of young people going into an archaeological career in the future.

Mike Collins, Historic England’s Lead on Hadrian’s Wall, said: “We’re really pleased to working again with the Vindolanda Trust to launch the second year of this scheme, which will enable young people to delve into the history Hadrian’s Wall and uncover the stories of the people who lived on the frontier of the Roman empire nearly two thousand years ago.

“By opening up this year’s bursaries to young people across a large part of the North East, we hope to inspire a new generation of archaeologists who might have thought this career path was out of their reach.”

The scheme aims to tackle the high demand and cost of taking part which can be a a barrier from participating to some young people. Credit: Vindolanda Trust

2023 is the second year Historic England has worked with the Vindolanda Trust in this bursary scheme, opening opportunities to try archaeology and gain new skills to young people from all backgrounds.

Whilst last year’s bursaries were open to students at schools in the Tyne Valley, this year they have been divided into residential and non-residential places to widen participation.

Four bursary places are non-residential and open to 18-20 year-olds living in the Tyne Valley: the other six bursaries will fund residential places on the dig with young people from across Tyne and Wear and Northumberland eligible to apply (those in NE1 – NE44 postcodes).

The bursaries will cover a two-week placement at the popular annual excavation, working alongside experienced archaeologists. The placements will take place between June and August.

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