Past in Our hands: A Digital Festival Series

For this year’s Festival of Archaeology, we wanted to bring archaeology to everyone’s doorstep by creating a digital festival series that all could enjoy. That’s what Past in Our Hands is, a way to bring archaeologists, students, and enthusiasts together to create content for audience that can feel inspired. Whether that’s for young viewers thinking of a career in the field, professionals who can connect with one another and learn, enthusiasts, casual viewers who enjoy learning new archaeological facts, or someone who has never interacted with archaeology before. 

Growing from previous years’ ‘Ask An Archaeologist Day’ and ‘A Day in the Life of an Archaeologist’, these were brought to life in a new way so audiences could continue to interact with a varied degree of knowledge over the festival period. Ask An Archaeologist Day returned and was a hit, encouraging professionals to answer key questions, such as what’s the best trowel and how can I be an archaeologist when I grow up?

Past in Our Hands consisted of a collection of blogs and videos from a range of backgrounds, covering the festival’s theme of nature, archaeological research, how individuals stepped into their roles, and answers to some of the most asked questions. 

The Festival of Archaeology continues to grow each year, adding hundreds of events across the UK to bring archaeology to as many people as possible, but even then some are unable to physically make it. The digital festival series strives to make heritage more accessible and inclusive, diversifying context, audience, and participation. 

We know that archaeology has been seen as an academic subject, which it can be, but there is more to it than professional digs and research. That is why we created a digital festival, to inspire the future generation of archaeologists and involve enthusiasts on a broader scale. Anyone and everyone can get involved, whether that’s sharing your own understanding and finds out and about in the community, participating in digs around the country, listening to a talk by an archaeologist, your own research academically or for personal use, there is so much more to it. All you need is a little bit of curiosity and a desire to learn and discover more. 

That’s why we wanted to ask archaeologists about their experience, to pick their brain for answers to the questions we all want to know. 

Battlefield archaeologist, Sam Wilson, and two early career archaeologists, Iris Stovell, and Ti Bateman answered the question: what’s one thing you wish more people noticed about historic places around them? Although answering the same question, their backgrounds and passions contributed three different answers, all rich in knowledge and inspiration. 

Ever thought archaeology wasn’t for you? Laura Miucci, Lore & Piece, Iris Stovell, and Neil Redfern, director of the Council for British Archaeology, produced great answers. Key point to take away from them? You are wrong if you think that. Give it a go, and you’ll realise it’s for everyone and a whole lot of fun. 

Many people submitted blogs that cover a wide range of research, from castle restoration, soil DNA, transferable archaeological skills, days in the life of editors and archaeologists, all so different but just as engaging and inspiring. 

Cambridge student archaeologist, Amelia Treasure, who is working on the handling collection for the Lawrence Room kindly created a video and blog. She linked her experience and the project of a handling collection to the idea of the digital festival, picking apart the title ‘Past in Our Hands’ to really get into the concept of whose hands are the past in, what past, and who shapes it. 

But none of this could have been done without the help of our digital sponsor, Coast 2 Capital. With their support, we were able to bring archaeologists to audiences at home and hopefully inspire people to discover their love for archaeology. 

Past in Our Hands will be back next year in 2027 for another year of fun festivities, hoping to reach more audiences, both new and existing, find new archaeologists to show to the world, and keep proving that archaeology is for everyone.