Goodbye Shed – Hello Archaeology Centre This year saw the last season of use for our excavation shed. Since 2008 this shed has provided shelter to thousands of excavators, and with it, many fond memories. Over the past month, volunteers have been sending us images of their time in the shed. We have put a few below. Volunteers photos One volunteer went a step further and wrote a poem – which we think sums up the building perfectly. Ode to the diggers’ shed By Ann Hetherington How can a shed have a personality? It is exactly that: A shed. Wooden. Cold. Dusty. Muddy at times. And yet This shed has a character. How can a shed be a friend? And yet it has been exactly that. A refuge. A replacement for the Nissan huts That originally stood here Serviceable and sturdy But noisy in the rain. More recently this hut squatted Here in the landscape Unobtrusively Quietly. Sheltering the diggers and workers And bones Trays of ancient bones and pot. Yet more than a shelter It has housed dreams Friendships Networks, love affairs and kindnesses. Sometimes It has been like the United Nations. It has united people in their escape From the wild weather Rain Snow, ice and the prevailing wind. Over cups of hot tea and coffee and many biscuits And a desire to find history. But all things need to move on. Even sheds. Move onto pastures new. Literally - a farmer’s field Where it will have another life And reinvent itself. We wish it well The old shed And look forward to its sparkly successor Warm, light and with hot running water. It won’t take long Before it is a member of the family. The shed leaves us to make way for our new Robin Birley Archaeological Centre for the start of the 2020 excavation season. An image of new centre The new design takes inspiration from the original Nissan sheds that were on site way back in 1974. The site and the shed complex in 1974 Progress is coming along nicely for our new centre. It is being built in five parts by a company called Green Unit in Oxford, and then will be transported to the site. The progress so far, two of the five sections coming together If you would like to make a donation towards our new centre, please follow the link below: https://www.vindolanda.com/appeal/vindolanda-archaeology-centre You can keep up to date with the new centre’s progress through our social media channels – or even better – pay us a visit! Manage Cookie Preferences