DigVentures

Name: DigVentures
Address: Barnard Castle, DL128PL, GB
Telephone: +443330113990
Price range: Not Applicable

Do you love archaeology? Have you always wanted to go on a dig, but weren't sure how to make it happen? Then DigVentures' archaeological digs are for you!

We run crowdfunded and crowdsourced excavations that anyone can be part of.

01/06/2026

We’re still thinking about our recent talk on what the Class Ceiling inquiry reveals about class and exclusion in archaeology and heritage. A few things really stood out to us:

⛏️ Archaeology’s workforce challenges aren’t just structural, they’re also about who feels they belong, and how the profession is perceived
⛏️ People are often filtered out before their skills and potential are recognised
⛏️ Archaeology is a creative profession, but the systems around it don’t always reflect its value

None of this is new, but it's persistent. Class-based barriers still shape who enters archaeology, who can afford to stay and how work is valued once they do.

So the question now isn’t just what we see, it’s what we do next!

Hear from our Founder and co-CEO Lisa Westcott Wilkins on why this might be better understood as a wider infrastructure issue, and why archaeology's in a strong position to help reshape its own future: https://buff.ly/CbVviFR

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29/05/2026

There's just one week to go until our next dig! Squeeeeee!

Tudor Spring isn't done with us yet - and this time, we're heading to Ampthill Great Park in Bedfordshire to try and find something that's eluded archaeologists since 1987...

A lost Tudor palace 🏰

Henry VIII loved this place. He loved it so much, records tell us he even added his own bowling alley for whenever he wasn't out hunting. But it didn't hold quite the same charm for Catherine of Aragon, who was sent here during her divorce proceedings.

And then the whole place just...disappeared. All that's left is a cross in a public park, a very old floor plan that doesn't quite match the ground, and an argument that's been running for decades about where the building actually was.

We have geophysics. We'll have trenches. And we have opinions.

Now, it's time to find out if any of them are right!

See you on site from June 6th 🤩

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28/05/2026

What makes a man found an abbey? 🤔

In our final episode of Trench Chat from Lesnes Abbey, we explore the story of Richard de Lucy - royal fixer, medieval power player and possible accessory to one of England’s most infamous murders...

From Henry II and Thomas Becket to pilgrimages, penance and political scandal, this is arguably the 12th century at its most chaotic!

Catch the full episode now: https://youtu.be/220fZnS_EH0

27/05/2026

Want to uncover hidden archaeology and help to protect fast-changing UK landscapes from wherever you are? 🌍

With free training from Deep Time, you can go from complete beginner to confident contributor as you learn how to map and identify features - and join a community of passionate citizen scientists like Gillian, to protect the landscapes we love (warning: it's addictive) 😉

Our latest mission to map Hadrian's Wall launches soon. Sign up and start your training to be ready when it lands: https://ow.ly/GWyh50Z4zXK

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26/05/2026

Looking through photos, videos and documents can tell us a lot about the past, but did you know it can also help us understand what might be coming next? 👀

Join Coasts in Mind, the project we’ve been building with Museum of London Archaeology and HUMAP, and add your own personal records to a community archive revealing how UK coastlines have changed over the last 100 years 🌊

From holiday snaps to forgotten postcards, your contributions will help to build a living record of long-term coastal change, and what this could mean for the future.

Register for MOLA’s online community archive now: https://cim.mola.org.uk/sign_up

This project has been made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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📷 A hulk on the shore side of the Faversham Creek, Coasts in Mind/MOLA

22/05/2026

What does a newt have to do with archaeology?🦎

Quite a lot, as it turns out!

This World Biodiversity Day, we’re thinking about landscapes and their many layers. Habitats, histories, species, soils, boundaries, ponds, pathways…they’re all connected.

This is where Deep Time comes in! Built for mapping archaeology, our citizen science platform is now helping us bring biodiversity and heritage evidence into the same picture, because landscapes don’t sit in neat categories.

For example...

🩵 A medieval field boundary can survive as a hedgerow
🩵 A Roman road can become a wildlife corridor
🩵 An ancient quarry can turn into a pond
🩵 And that pond might just become home to our friend Isaac here (Get it? Isaac Newt-on?)

So at Deep Time, our citizen scientists aren't only looking for Roman walls, but for the living systems that grow from them (that might just come to house creatures with tiny feet and excellent tails) 🐸

Join Deep Time: https://ow.ly/tSGa50Z2M0W

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21/05/2026

What happens after the digging stops at Lindisfarne? 🤔

The post-ex starts!

Animal bone is just one part of the story on Holy Island, but it can tell us a huge amount.

Which animals were living on Lindisfarne? What were people eating? How were bones used, discarded, worked or buried?

Post-excavation is where we start piecing together allll the answers - cleaning, sorting, recording, analysing and identifying samples, finds and bones (human and animal) - into a bigger picture.

This July, join us for our next series of osteology workshops at Durham University to explore what the human remains we've uncovered at Lindisfarne reveal, as we continue Beyond The Raid.

The more archaeology we can fund, the more of the story we can share. Our trenches may be closed, but the discoveries are only just beginning ✨

👉 https://ow.ly/E3xi50Z2Cot

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🎥 Lindisfarne, 2023

Archaeology at Durham University

20/05/2026

Here's another Deep Time mystery to make you go "hmm..." 🤔

What time period do you think this archaeological activity belongs to? 🔍

This is exactly the kind of challenge citizen scientists with Deep Time take on - spotting, distinguishing and recording features using maps, aerial imagery and landscape data.

They’re not experts (though many become them over time!), but people with curiosity, patience and an eagle eye for reading the land.

With practice, you could join them in doing real science that makes a difference 🌍

Share your guesses in the comments!

👉 https://digventures.com/projects/deep-time/

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19/05/2026

What did medieval monks get up to all day? 🤔

Trench Chat returns with a surprising answer!

We're back at Lesnes Abbey in South East London where we're busting some medieval myths.

It turns out Lesnes didn't actually have any monks at all, but Augustinian canons. So who were they, and what did they do? Was monastery life the sweet deal we'd expect? 👀

Look out for new videos every Monday as we bring you more stories from the trenches, the archives, the finds room and the people helping bring these places back into focus 💚

Catch the full episode now: https://youtu.be/A1jVdnZDM_k

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15/05/2026

We’re still thinking about last week’s talk on class and exclusion in archaeology and heritage, and what the sector can learn from the Class Ceiling inquiry and its recommendations for widening access to the arts.

Thank you to everyone who joined us live and shared reflections and experiences, from those breaking into the sector, those navigating it today, and those who’ve felt pushed out altogether.

This feels like the start of a MUCH bigger conversation, and one we’re keen to keep building on. Watch this space! 💚

Catch the full discussion now: https://ow.ly/9ZAG50YZ4MO

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Address

Barnard Castle
DL128PL

Telephone

+443330113990

Website

https://digventures.com/, https://digventures.com/calendar/, https://www.youtube.com/DigVentures, https://digventures.co

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