Sam Golder, BA (Hons) Scottish History and Archaeology Undergraduate at The University of the Highlands and Islands (Perth Campus), talks about his volunteer placement in Orkney.
“History has been a favourite subject of mine throughout school while archaeology was a passion that was harder to pursue. After a bit of research in my last year I applied for a course at Perth College UHI which incorporated both of these subjects. I started my degree course in September 2014 and have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges that present themselves readily, even if they are quite stressful at times.
Orkney is a place that I have often visited over the years (mostly in summer) due to the fact I have family in the area. This is only the second time that I have travelled up during the winter and my 5 day trip has already turned into 7 days due to Storm Caroline!! Over the years I have visited most of the well-known sites on Orkney (many before they had visitor centres) which is probably where my passion for archaeology began.
I am now in my last year of my 4 year course and this is the first time I have been able to get hands on with the archaeological side of my degree which is a bit different to just reading books!!! I now understand why so many people refer to Orkney as the place to be if you want to study archaeology.
During my time in Orkney I have been set tasks by Dan Lee (Lifelong Learning and Outreach Archaeologist) which have included sample and finds sorting, finds washing, recording finds and taking environment samples. These were all very interesting with finds ranging from 18th century pottery from Caithness to animal bones and teeth from The Cairns in South Ronaldsay. Wet-sieving of environmental samples was also very interesting and made me realise why I was asked to bring waterproofs as it got a bit wet and dirty!!!
Throughout the week I also sorted out and ordered a folder relating to the site of Skaill Farmhouse in Rousay which has been excavated over the last few years. This involved typing up site registers and sorting out a vast collection of sheets relating to the site. Therefore, by undertaking some of these tasks I now understand the background to what goes on in the field, during and after an excavation. It has also opened my eyes to some important matters such as the fact that there can never be too many labels which MUST be legible or else it can get extremely frustrating for people dealing with samples and finds further down the pipeline.
Overall, my trip to Orkney has been a very enjoyable and experience which has provided me with some new skills that I will be able to use in the years to come as I continue my foray into the world of archaeology.
The staff are all very friendly and helpful and the volunteering options are endless which has allowed me to obtain a wealth of knowledge that I could not have gained in Perth. I am currently writing my dissertation on ‘The last 100 years on St Kilda’ and after I complete this and my degree I plan to further my experience within archaeology by returning to Orkney next summer to take part in the dig at Skaill Farmhouse and also The Cairns in South Ronaldsay. ”
If you want to know more about the courses we offer at the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute contact us on studyarchaeology@uhi.ac.uk or see our website.
Interesting stuff Mr Sam Golder!