New Venues in 2010

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Chester Amphitheatre NAW 2008 Cosmeston Community Archaeology Project 2008 The CBA was pleased to welcome so many new organisations who took part in the Festival for the first time in 2010, as well as welcoming back many organisers who have been taking part in the event since its early days back in the 1990s.

Each year the Festival of British Archaeology relies on heritage organisations and volunteers to organise and run hundreds of exciting and inspiring events across the UK, so that everyone can get involved in archaeology and see archaeology in action.

Societies and Community Archaeology groups

A fantastic number of local societies, community archaeology groups and special projects participated in the CBA’s annual celebration of archaeology for the first time in 2010, running events that showcased their work to the public and encouraged people to take more of an interest in the historic environment around them.

Recent research shows that community archaeology has doubled in the last 20 years, with over 200,000 individuals now involved in a community archaeology group or local society, carrying out activities as diverse as excavation, marine archaeology, recording a historic building or volunteering for a Young Archaeologists’ Club Branch, highlighting the amazing variation and ingenuity of community archaeology carried out across the UK.

Showcasing the phenomenal success and popularity of voluntary archaeology in the UK, new event organisers in 2010 included:

Find out more about how you can get involved in archaeology or to find a local group

Museums, Historic houses and Heritage services

Museums have always made a huge contibution to the Festival and never fail to provide an exciting range of events to enjoy. This is a clear example that proves that archaeology doesn’t have to be confined to digging holes in muddy fields, but can be appreciated and explored through museum collections, demonstrations, re-enactments and through getting ‘hands-on’!

The UK has an impressive number of museums, specialising in everything from Ancient Egypt through to World War II, the history of railways, through to the history of costume, and with displays and collections that help us to build a vivid picture of how different people have lived over thousands of years.

This diverse range of museum collections will be put to full use during the Festival of British Archaeology. From local museums to museums with national collections, there will be something for everyone at a museum near you, during the Festival!

Museums taking part in the Festival for the first time in 2010 included:

Other organisations

What makes the Festival of British Archaeology so unique is the vast range of organisations that participate in the event - many of which, on the face of things, people would not immediately associate with archaeology - such as countryside agencies, conservation charities, colleges or archives. But all of these organisations have strong links with archaeology and heritage - for example, through ancient monuments on their land, important historic documents in their archives, their organisation being housed in a historically important building or through connections to historic landscapes that stretch back through the mists of time - and it is wonderful that these links are recognised and seen as important enough to be celebrated through participation in the Festival.

We are very pleased to welcome the following organisations to the Festival and hope that through participation in the event, visitors to their sites will appreciate the role that archaeology plays in so many environments in the UK and be inspired to delve further into the past. Through understanding and appreciating our historic environment, whether through remains below the ground, historic buildings or artefacts from the past, we can help to encourage our government that the past does matter and that through their support these important parts of the UK’s heritage can be saved for the enjoyment of current and future generations.