Outreach: A Day of Archaeology

Have you ever wondered what archaeologists actually do all day? Contrary to popular belief, it seems that the vast majority of archaeologists do not spend their time kneeling in trenches, scraping away at the soil with a battered trowel!

At the end of June, in a repeat of an exercise first conducted last year, archaeologists around the world will be taking part in “A Day of Archaeology“, opening the doors on an often misunderstood world. Those taking part will be blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking and using any and all other social media channels to explain exactly what they’ve been involved in on a specific day (29th June 2012) in what could be the widest archaeological outreach exercise ever conducted.

Last year’s event saw over 400 professional, student and voluntary archaeologists from around the globe contributing almost 450 separate posts including lots of photos, video, audio and more. You can read more about the project on their website, but the general aims of the day are to raise public awareness of the truly diverse nature of archaeology, to demonstrate the wide variety of work undertaken on a day-to-day across the globe, and help to raise public awareness of the relevance and importance of archaeology to the modern world. It is hoped that this will also in turn emphasize the vital role that archaeology plays in preserving the past for everyone’s future.

We’ll be watching this one closely!