Festival 2009 a Tremendous Success

The Festival of British Archaeology 2009 closed at the weekend, following an amazing fortnight of events, activities and excavations that once again gave thousands of people the opportunity to discover more about the past and how they can get more involved with it.

651 events were held around the UK showcasing the best of British archaeology, proving to be the biggest UK-wide celebration of archaeology ever. It is estimated that over 250,000 people attended events and it is hoped that for many people, the Festival will have been the start of their journey of discovery into Britain’s past.

2009 marked the first year of the newly named and extended Festival of British Archaeology, which grew from the success of National Archaeology Week, which started out life as National Archaeology Day in 1990.

The Festival gained huge media coverage this year, with national coverage in The Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian as well as in Country Life, Grazia and on BBC Radio 4’s Open Country! There was also excellent coverage of the event in regional media and on BBC local radio, so all in all, it is believed that news of the Festival reached a bigger audience than ever before.

Find out more about what took place in the Events Round Up and on the Festival blogs.

The Festival of British Archaeology 2010 will take place from Saturday 17th July – Sunday 1st August - put the date in your diary!