TESTIMONIALS

Thanks to Derek and Lizzie for one of the most exciting digs I have been on. The friendship and group support show the thought that Udig has put into making this a dig for everyone no matter the skill level.

Unfortunately, the tent I brought was too small it was like lava leaving the cacoon each morning, I have since bought a larger tent! The amenities are very good and I could go on forever about the excellent food!

Even though I live in Australia I will be returning next year to continue being part of this new and exciting dig. Well done Derek, Lizzie and Udig.

I signed up for a week on this course when I saw it advertised in Current Archaeology earlier this year, having previously once been involved in a community dig in Hereford.

I felt I needed some formal guidance in dig methods and found this to be exactly what wanted.

It turned out I was the only pupil in the second week in June and I got better than one-to-one tuition from Derek and Lizzie. The geophys surveys had been done and most of the turf removed from a large trench, revealing a previously unknown, probably medieval building with wall footings and dateable finds.

Skills acquired included: which tools and when; recognising and labelling strata; identifying artefacts vs debris; cleaning finds and photography; site layout and drawing; deciding on beer or cider and watching barns owls foraging each evening across the site.

Three meals a day at the nearby hotel made the daily routine very enjoyable.

Having been an armchair follower of archaeology for so long this course was a treat and one worth repeating later in the season.

Thanks to the team.

 Thank you, once again, for taking such good care of my two children this week and for your patience, humour and guidance in showing them all things archaeology! They have loved the week they spent at Stanwick Hall.

Thanks too, to Gina and Geoff, Sharon, Ollie and all others who were there. What a special week! Best of luck with the rest of the dig.

See you soon. Sarah

We signed up to a week with Udig for my 60th birthday. Now I think it will be on my list every year – what a fabulous experience, completely exceeded our expectations.

Thank you Udig team.

 Thank you for a great week on site at Stanwick Hall. It was a fantastic opportunity for some hands-on experience and I found it really interesting to learn about how the project was established and how the site is evolving over time. Thanks to Derek and Lizzy for their generosity and good humour in dealing with amateur enthusiasts like me, and for being good company and making the week fun (and for their patience in answering so many questions over the course of the week!). 

I have been sharing stories of my Udig Stanwick Hall experience with family and friends here in Australia and also in the US and UK. Hopefully the Summer season will bring some more volunteers to the site over the next few months for you. I can see on the Facebook story reels that it looks like some interesting finds are being made. 

 Hopefully I can make a return visit at some point in the future and see how the site has changed since Week 5 2024.