Learning about Archaeology
by Tom Blagg
'Why are you interested in archaeology?' is a question which I find difficult to answer. I could explain how I came to be interested, but why is another matter. Whatever our individual reasons are, though, I think that one of them must be fascination with the endless variety of what we can discover about the past. And for many of us, there comes a time when we would really like to widen or deepen our knowledge, but are not quite sure how to go about doing so. One solution is to join a part-time course of study, and there is quite a range to choose from. Starting usually at the end of September, University Extra-Mural Departments, local authority Adult Education Centres and the Workers Education Association provide tutorial classes which meet weekly, usually in the evening though there are also daytime classes, for up to 20 2-hour sessions. There, with an experienced tutor, the class has an opportunity to study an area of archaeology in some detail over a period of time, and really get to know it.
Members inspecting the remains of the Roman Temple of Antenociticus at Benwell, Northumberland.
Not everyone is able to make a regular weekly commitment, however. Day schools and weekend courses provide an opportunity for a more concentrated look at particular subjects, and especially for hearing at first hand from excavators and researchers who have been making new discoveries. For those with some vacation time, there are summer schools, particularly those which offer training in excavation skills and post-excavation work (and, on a personal note, it was on a university summer school which I chanced to see advertised in the window of a local bank that I started my archaeological career sixteen years ago). And there are study tours to areas of archaeological interest in Britain and abroad.
How do you find out about all these things, and where do you go? The School of Continuing Education of the University of Kent organizes courses, both at the University itself at Canterbury and its center at Tonbridge, and in association with K.C.C. Adult Education Centres and W.E.A. branches throughout Kent, some of which also organize their own archaeological courses. All these bodies publish a prospectus in the late summer, which is available on request, and lists courses to be held during the following year. Many are also advertised in local libraries, and see also this Newsletter. Contact these centers and, if you would like to know about future events, ask to be put on the mailing list. Finally (recalling memories of going unwillingly to school), I would say that the great difference is that those who come to these classes are there because they want to be, and that is rewarding for tutors and students alike.
