The Archaeological Field School

Each year our international team of academics, students, volunteers and support staff combine to discover incredible archaeological finds that help to reveal the history of southern Britain, solving many unanswered questions.

This year fieldwork will be continuing on the Durotriges Project a programme of archaeological investigation examining Iron Age Dorset and the nature of interaction between the local Durotriges tribe and the Roman Empire. The research project, which began in 2009, has investigated a series of Bronze Age settlements, an Iron Age town, three Iron Age cemeteries, a Roman villa and burial ground and a post Roman farm.

Download the extensive article, 'Finding Duropolis' (pdf 2.3mb), from Current Archaeology magazine to learn about the project's full history.

Students from our range of archaeology courses are able to gain vital hands-on experience at a series of important and fascinating sites, while those with an interest in archaeology, Dorset's history, or the project as a whole, are welcome to join us. 

At the Durotriges Project site this year, we hope to investigate an Iron Age farm, gaining an insight into settlement, manufacturing activity and burial in the period immediately before the arrival of the Roman legions in AD 43. Updates and information can be found on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts