{"id":5150,"date":"2026-10-14T11:38:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T10:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/?p=5150"},"modified":"2026-10-14T12:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T11:42:16","slug":"dorstone-2026-my-first-fieldwork-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/2026\/10\/14\/dorstone-2026-my-first-fieldwork-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Dorstone 2026: My First Fieldwork Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>This summer, the Beneath Hay Bluff Archaeology excavation project opened my eyes to the practical world of archaeology. Excavating the Neolithic site of Arthur\u2019s Stone with Julian Thomas, alongside the medieval castle at Snodhill with Tim and Simon, was such a rewarding experience, and I enjoyed every single day of the dig.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being immersed in a landscape rich with history, and surrounded by likeminded students and professional archaeologists, the four weeks at Dorstone were incredible and I cannot wait to return next summer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As my first time doing fieldwork, I didn\u2019t know exactly what to expect but when I arrived, I was instantly supported by the supervisors and second year students who understood how I felt. At Dorstone everyone supported everyone, both the campsite and dig sites were places to expand your knowledge and have fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aside from experiencing the practical side to archaeology, an element of the experience I found valuable were the conversations with the supervisors about archaeology as a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5241\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4306-768x1024-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4306-768x1024-1.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4306-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4306-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4306-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4306-1080x1440-1.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4306-432x576-1.jpeg 432w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4306-scaled-1.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5242\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4343-768x1024-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4343-768x1024-1.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4343-225x300-1.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4343-432x576-1.jpeg 432w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4343-1152x1536-1.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4343-1536x2048-1.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4343-1080x1440-1.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4343-scaled-1.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5243\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4526-768x1024-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4526-768x1024-1.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4526-225x300-1.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4526-432x576-1.jpeg 432w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4526-1152x1536-1.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4526-1536x2048-1.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4526-1080x1440-1.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2026\/10\/IMG_4526-scaled-1.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On several evenings after dinner, there were activities such as glass-arrowhead or Neolithic jewellery-making workshops run by Laura, a casual football match, or a trip to a local historic site. The long but rewarding days were rounded off with a trip down to the Pandy Inn, followed by games, singing, and relaxing around the campfire. Being surrounded by such passionate people meant you were never bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This experience was a window into the career I want to go into after I finish my degree, we covered many practical elements of archaeology that I am looking forward to expanding in second year and next year at Dorstone.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-pale-ocean-gradient-background has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Words by Amelia Stroud, Undergraduate Student in SALC.&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This summer, the Beneath Hay Bluff Archaeology excavation project opened my eyes to the practical world of archaeology. Excavating the Neolithic site of Arthur\u2019s Stone with Julian Thomas, alongside the medieval castle at Snodhill with Tim and Simon, was such a rewarding experience, and I enjoyed every single day of the dig. Being immersed in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6384,"featured_media":5194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-5150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-blogs","tag-student-voice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6384"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5150"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5244,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5150\/revisions\/5244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}