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Cecily,
we know you're an archaeologist, but what precisely is your job
title?
I'm a 'Finds Supervisor' which means that I deal with all the material
is recovered from sites.
We
have to wash the finds, organise them and get them sent off to the
correct specialist who can then identify them and tell us all about
them.
How
did you first get into archaeology?
I chose to do it at university because I thought it was such an
interesting subject and then I trained as a student with the company
that I work for now, so that's how I got into this job really.
What
attracted you to it as a student?
I think it is the finds to be honest, they're so fascinating. All
of the different things that people have thrown away, and how much
that can tell you about that person, it really intrigued me.
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Roman intaglio Cecily found |
What
is the most interesting thing you've found?
It is a Roman intaglio, a gemstone setting from a signet
ring. It had actually been thrown into an Anglo-Saxon cess-pit,
the Saxons would have taken the gold and then discarded the gem
setting.
Where's
the most interested place you've excavated?
I haven't excavated abroad, but we have an excavation that we run
every year in North East Scotland, it's a site called Tarbat Monastery
in a very remote fishing village. The monastery was founded by the
Picts who were a Scottish nation which were integrated with the
Scottish during the 9th century.
How
do people become full time archaeologists?
I think nowadays a university degree is the normal route, but it
doesn't always have to be that way. There are loads of way that
you can get into archaeology on a volunteer basis. If you didn't
want to be a full-time professional, there are plenty of opportunities
for participation.
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Moss Street Roman site |
So
how can people in North Yorkshire get involved?
There are various digs that happen which have public access, so
people can go there and take a look at exhibitions and go on site
tours. They can watch archaeologists in action.
That
includes school visits and hands-on activities for kids. We did
one recently with the Roman site at Moss Street in York which all
the kids really enjoyed. There's also the Archaeological Resource
Centre where people can go and visit.There
are increasingly more excavations that have activities and public
access.
Is York a good place to excavate?
It can be. The area where there was the highest concentration of
inhabitation, the area around the fortress, you don't very often
get to the necessary depth to reach the Roman level. But if you
go further out than the Roman core, outside the city walls, there's
lots of developments happening around the remains of the Roman city
which often hit the Roman cemeteries which would have been just
outside the Roman walls.
It's
not uncommon to find cremations in pots which have offerings of
glass and tiles. Later on the Romans began cremating themselves
rather then burying themselves so you can find Roman burials as
well. They line the routes of the Roman routes out of the city which
is why you find them so often when building work takes place on
the outskirts of York.
Cecily
Spalls is a Finds Supervisor with the York-based Field Archaeology
Specialists (FAS).
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ROMANS
