This is a guest blog by current student Sam Randall, studying BA (Hons) Archaeology & Anthropology.

PLACE Field School

I’ve always been interested in archaeology and anthropology – I grew up in Somerset and Wiltshire and there are so many artefacts all around us.
I can’t remember specifically what I found that got me so interested, but I became fascinated with archaeology and then later by human remains. I do know I’ve been lucky to live in places where there’s always something to find – Avebury, Stonehenge, Roman Villas, fossils on the beach, bits of pottery and arrow flints all around us.
When it came to choosing a university, I opted for BU because the course involves a six-week field school called the Place and Past Field School. I’d had some limited experience on archaeological sites, but the chance to be involved in a full-scale project and being given responsibility for the work taking place was something that really excited me. I was even more excited when we were told that the 2018 dig would be in Poole Harbour (sand and silt) and not Winterbourne Kingston (chalk). Not only is Poole Harbour easier to dig in, you don’t get reflected sunburn from the chalk! It also helps that BU’s annual six-week field school has uncovered some really significant finds in recent years. The staff on the course are less like teachers and more like mentors; you know them all by their first name and work alongside them on field trips. There are lots of opportunities to be involved and learn more – at the Tuesday evening seminars you hear eminent people like Professor Tim Darvill MBE asking questions, so you learn all the time. If your thinking about studying this course and your on the fence at all, I’d say go for it!