Volunteer with us

Keen to pursue a career in archaeology, Job joined Cotswold Archaeology as a volunteer as part of Gloucestershire’s Employment & Skills Hub ‘100 Futures’ scheme. He regularly volunteered on the National Lottery Funded ‘Store to Store’ project, helping to consolidate archaeological artefacts and documentary evidence held by the Museum of Gloucester. A highlight so far has been working with the remains of a Roman coffin.

Dawn has always been interested in archaeological excavations and first joined us after volunteering on the Rendlesham Revealed project. As an avid metal detectorist, she has contributed to both the Operation Aphrodite and Exercise Thunderbolt projects. For her, the best part of volunteering is meeting like-minded people who share her passion for history and archaeology.

Now semi-retired, Dawn enjoys using her free time to do things she’s always wanted and to build a community with fellow volunteers. She says, “It has been really good for me mentally and physically to be outdoors (in all weathers) in interesting locations, focussing on the task at hand but still sharing the whole experience as part of a much larger team. I’ve definitely come away with new friends for life and a great sense of pride to have been able to ‘give something back.”

Jo studied Archaeology at the University of Reading – she won’t say exactly when, other than it was in the days before computers! After graduating, she spent a few years digging, with her favourite project being several months excavating Roman remains at Carlisle. Life later took her in a different direction, working in community development, but when she retired she was keen to reconnect with her first love: archaeology.

Jo particularly enjoys relearning old skills and picking up new ones. But what she loves most is the friendly team at Cotswold Archaeology and the chance to be sociable, something she says is “so important when you’re retired”.

Charlotte enjoyed her work placement with Cotswold Archaeology so much that she returned as a volunteer during her university holidays. She is currently studying Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh and hopes to become a field archaeologist after graduating. During her time with us, Charlotte has particularly enjoyed learning to process, identify and sort pottery, writing up site information, and (much to her surprise) helping with finds marking, which she says is “better than I thought it would be!”

Rich grew up metal detecting and has a strong interest in history, so he jumped at the chance to volunteer with Cotswold Archaeology as a military veteran on the Little Boy Blue project with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Since then, he has taken part in all three of our DPAA partnership projects, as well as Shallow Graves with Operation Nightingale.

Volunteering on these projects built the connections and skills that led to his current role as a UXO engineer with a company that often works alongside CA’s archaeological team. He finds volunteering invaluable to his wellbeing and always looks forward to joining us, as it gives him the chance to do something he’s passionate about. He goes as far as to say, “it’s like a holiday, but a lot better!”