On the Expedition
When in Rome, they say, do as the Romans do. But what did the Romans do in England?
This extraordinary permanent large-scale excavation site is in a quiet residential area close to the River Tyne and the North Sea. South Shields Roman Fort is the site of a roman military and civilian settlement and lies within the UNESCO Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site. For more than a decade, Earthwatch teams have helped map more than 1,000 square meters of pre-Roman and Roman settlement here, excavating jewellery, armour, game pieces, and ceramics.
Family teams will experience the same fieldwork as standard adult teams, with more supervision from trained field archaeologists with many years experience, and young archaeological students from the local Universities. You’ll work in small groups, rotating among many tasks depending on age and ability, including stratigraphic excavation using a trowel or possibly more robust digging equipment, recording site data, site surveying, and sampling, cleaning, and processing finds. In the evening and during recreational time, there will be planned activities, and you may visit the seafront and park at South Shields where family activities including a fun fair, amusement arcade and musical performances occur during the summer months, spend an evening playing games or exploring the wide sandy beach. You may also choose to your spend time along the most impressive stretches of Hadrian's Wall, enjoying local Geordie culture in South Shields, or in the historic city of Newcastle.
Meals and Accommodations
Volunteers are expected to make their own arrangements for accommodation. South Shields is a seaside town, and as such has a variety of different accommodations to suit all tastes and budgets, from hotels and guesthouses to self catering holiday lettings, caravans and camping sites, close to the research site. All meals will be the responsibility of the volunteers. The research site provides facilities for lunch preparation and tea breaks, while tea, coffee and soft drinks will be provided.
South Shields offers a wide choice of places to eat out. Whether you are looking for a snack, a pub meal or a sit down five-course meal or traditional fish and chips.
About the Research Area
The region of Tyne and Wear is well known for its award winning beaches, amazing coastline, its wildlife, and its tranquil beauty. South Shields is located south east of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and is situated within the Tyneside conurbation, a famous former industrial area. The residential area where you’ll work is in a coastal holiday resort, with many parks and good beaches nearby. Much of the coastal area remains open and unspoiled, and the research site and accommodations lie in a quiet, residential area close to the North Sea and the mouth of the River Tyne.