On the Expedition
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. But what did the Romans do in northern England?
This extraordinary excavation site is in a quiet residential area with views of the River Tyne and the North Sea. For more than a decade, Earthwatch teams have helped map more than 1,000 square meters of pre-Roman and Roman settlement here, excavating jewelry, armor, game pieces, and ceramics. You’ll work in groups of four or five, rotating among many tasks, including stratigraphic excavation using a trowel and brush, recording site data, site surveying, and sampling, cleaning, and processing finds. When you're not digging into the social changes of the Roman era, your recreational time can be spent along the most impressive stretches of Hadrian's Wall, enjoying local Geordie culture in South Shields, or in the historic cities of Newcastle, York, Durham, and Edinburgh—all easily reachable from our field site.
Meals and Accommodations
Your team will enjoy local guest houses a five-minute walk from your work site in this pleasant, coastal resort town. The guest houses provide shared bedrooms, shared hot showers and bathrooms, and easy access to parks, beaches, and restaurants. With the North Sea in view, you'll be fortified by picnic lunches of sandwiches and fruit at the excavation site. You’ll also enjoy full English or continental breakfasts and hearty dinners at the guesthouse. You may even experience the treat of traditional English Sunday lunch.
About the Research Area
The region of Tyne and Wear is well known for its award winning beaches, amazing coastline and its countryside as a haven for wildlife and tranquil beauty. South Shields is located to the south of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and is situated within the Tyneside conurbation, a famous old industrial area. The area where volunteers will work forms a coastal holiday resort, with many parks and good beaches nearby. Much of the area remains open and unspoiled, and the research site and accommodations lie away from the industrial parts of South Tyneside in a quiet, residential area overlooking the North Sea and the mouth of the River Tyne. The local people are famously friendly and welcoming, and this is borne out by the firm friendships forged in the past between members of the excavation team and volunteers from many different countries. The location of South Shields within a modern communications network makes it an ideal base from which to travel within the area or to other areas of the UK; Hadrian’s Wall, Edinburgh, York, Durham and Newcastle all lie within easy reach.