Work Experience with Cotswold Archaeology

Cotswold Archaeology have been welcoming work experience students for over 20 years, encouraging young people at our Kemble, Andover, Milton Keynes and Suffolk offices. In 2025, we returned, once again, to deliver a very successful work experience programme. 24 students attended our placements, during the months between March-July, most of them from local schools and colleges.

Hosted by CA and our team of specialists, each placement lasts a week and is jam-packed with a diverse programme of workshops and talks designed to offer the most well-rounded and ‘physical’ introduction into the many possibilities of the archaeological experience. There are many different paths in archaeology; we’re not just simply diggers, we are authors, illustrators, educators, conservationists, osteologists, zoologists, administrators and much more!

Finds Officers hosted flint, pottery and metallic finds workshops, our illustrators facilitated expert workshops, focusing on the drawing and photography of various archaeological artefacts. Students also spent some of their time getting muddy and wet, processing environmental samples with our post-excavation specialists.

We asked students at the end of the work experience to describe the week in three words. Here’s what they had to say:

“I just wanted to message to thank you for last week’s work experience. My son really enjoyed himself. He particularly enjoyed osteoarchaeology, historic buildings and geomatics. He never really offers much information when you ask how his day has been, so when he says, ‘guess what I did…’ and then tells you about skeletons in ‘boxes, like shoe boxes’, you know it must have been interesting!“

“I was honoured to work with you both in the office and out on site (at a Thomas Hobbes community excavation in Malmesbury). Each one of my day to day experiences were as valuable as gold (if not more valuable!)“

We’re excited to announce that our Work Experience Programme will be returning in 2026 and applications are now open! Next year is set to be full of exciting workshops where you can get a real taste of what it’s like to work in archaeology. You’ll learn new skills, meet real specialists and discover more about what kind of career might be right for you. We’re offering placements across our four offices, so take a look at what’s available and start your application today!