Sudeley Castle - courtesy of DigVentures
My seven year-old loves history and enjoys nothing better than digging up fossils at the beach. I wondered if it was possible for kids to attend an actual archaeological dig. After doing some internet searching over the summer, I came across DigVentures. The not-for-profit crowd-funds and runs various archaeological digs around the country at historical sites, such as Lindisfarne, and workshops for children and adults alike.
Many of them were in the wilds of Northumbria and Wales and too far away for us, but I managed to find one at Sudeley Castle near Cheltenham in the Cotswolds, where they were uncovering a Tudor garden. The castle is famous for being the final resting place of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife. She is buried in the 15th Century chapel there and a workman found her burial site in the 1700s, after being alerted by some visitors. It is said that her corpse was still perfectly preserved – or at least it was until other visitors continued poking around at the site… as with all these things.
DigVentures was running a two-hour workshop for children to learn how to dig at an archaeological site and maybe even uncover some artefacts, and it sounded fascinating. We couldn’t wait to pack our trowels and get stuck in. I booked it months ahead and kept it a secret from my son so as to add to the surprise.
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We travelled up and stayed in a cottage in the Cotswolds, combining it with my son’s birthday and my mother-in-law’s which is also on the same day. We also took Covid tests as was advised by the company to ensure the safety of everyone on site. Unfortunately, bad weather struck and it didn’t stop raining torrentially for days. We showed up to Sudeley Castle on the day to find that DigVentures had had to cancel the dig there and then. They’d run one in the morning and were worried that it had rained so much, the mud walls of the trench were starting to collapse and it was dangerous.
Don’t dig the rain…
It was obviously hugely disappointing – and some of the kids who’d shown up for it were crying – but understandable in the circumstances. They said the garden had turned into a quagmire and safety is more important than anything else. As part of the ticket, my son and I were able to go round Sudeley Castle at least, although we had to pay for my hubby and MIL to visit. With it still pouring down, it was about making the best of it all. DigVentures gave us a refund after we contacted them. They also kindly offered to run another session for us the following week but, unfortunately, given we’d travelled quite a way we weren’t able to attend.
Still, the castle was interesting – Sudeley also played an important role in the English Civil War – and my son enjoyed seeing all the Roman coins and other artefacts that had been dug up there during renovations – “Look, Mum! There’s skulls!” And there were fun knight-related activities to do outside, although, admittedly these would have been more fun in better weather. The grounds are also very beautiful to visit. Hopefully we will have better luck next time.
