 How to Prepare - Basic Excavation Rules
Excavation in Northumberland, at any time of the year can be a wet experience! Warm, light-weight clothing is highly recommended. A waterproof coat, wellingtons or stout boots to work in are also essential. If you are joining us on the excavations during May, June, July or August, lotion and a hat to protect you from the sun are also useful. Insect repellent is advisable. Although we do not suffer from the Scottish variety of monster mosquitoes, the Northumberland equivalent can be irritating if there is no breeze.
Accommodation in the Vindolanda vicinity can become very difficult to find in the high tourist season of May - August. It is advisable to book a place to stay as soon as you can. The Once Brewed Youth Hostel is approximately 1.5 miles from the site and there are numerous B&Bs as well as campsites in the area. Go to our Accommodation list for further details.
Because of Vindolanda's rural location, it is recommended that volunteers bring a car if they have one. There are bus services, eg: Hadrian's Wall tourist bus, but these services are infrequent, and have a limited service beyond the main tourist months of the year. The nearest towns with full bus and rail links are Haltwhistle - 7 miles away, Hexham - 12 miles, Bardon Mill - 2.5miles, and Haydon Bridge - 6 miles. The towns are all situated in the River South Tyne valley, and Vindolanda is situated upon a steep hilltop on the north side of the valley. Go to our travel information page for further details. Excavation Day and Week for Volunteers The Vindolanda Excavations run seven days a week. Area A (with Andrew Birley) will operate Sunday - Thursday and Area B (with Justin Blake) will operate Tuesday - Saturday. Excavation will not be running on the following dates in the following areas. During these weeks the excavations in the other area will continue as normal. Area A - June 1st - 5th 2008 and September 7th - 11th 2008 Area B - April 8th - 12th 2008 and August 19th - 30th 2008
Area A - working Sunday to Thursday with Andrew Birley Area B - Working Tuesday to Saturday with Justin Blake
On your first day as a volunteer, you will be expected to arrive at Vindolanda promptly at the start time stated above at the main admission point on the site. You reach this point by following the signs off the A69 or off the B6318. Please do not come to the Museum entrance. You will be greeted by the archaeological staff near the main admission area and introduced to the other volunteers for that week. A brief tour of the excavations will follow, before we get down to work.
In the course of the excavation season we can lose the occasional day to the elements. Excavation will take place unless the archaeologists deem the weather conditions to be either detrimental to health or a danger to the archaeology of the site and the excavation methods deployed in its recovery. If excavation cannot take place, post excavation work such as washing and marking pottery, illustration, history walks and appropriate lectures will take place. If the weather continues to cause problems then all archaeological work will be halted until such a time as it may safely resume and the volunteers will be asked to return when the rain stops. All volunteers must accept the possibility that they may lose a day of excavating to the elements.
Health and Safety is a primary concern on any excavation and we take this matter very seriously at Vindolanda. All volunteers will be asked to read the excavation Health and Safety Policy, and agree to abide by its rules. The archaeologists hold the right to dismiss any volunteer from the excavations if it is believed that this person is behaving in a manner that might compromise the Vindolanda Trust's Health and Safety Policy for the excavations. Hard hats and other safety equipment will be issued to all volunteers when deemed appropriate by the health and safety officer for the excavations. Failure to wear this equipment may also result in dismissal from the excavations. All excavators should take out travel insurance, as they would when booking any holiday. This is advisable due to the physical nature of the work done while on site. 
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