In my last blog post I mentioned the importance of seeing how a heritage firm operates from the inside and finding out what goes on behind the scenes to allow the archaeological work to run smoothly. Having worked in the office for my first few weeks getting a firm grounding in the company’s policies, particularly health and safety, I’ve now had the opportunity to see and take part in the area of the company where a lot of these policies are put into practice - Wessex’s archaeological operations.
One of the best aspects of an internship at a company like Wessex Archaeology is the ability to access such a wide variety of experiences. Whilst providing a great opportunity to work within the busy office environment that you’d expect from a placement with a company, I’ve also been able to get outdoors and get some first-hand archaeological experience; since archaeology is a subject I’ve been enthusiastic about for a long time, this has been a valuable and unique opportunity. It’s been particularly useful to gain an understanding of how archaeological projects operate at a business level having previously taken part in university research digs and small voluntary projects. Additionally, working with some really experienced archaeologists has certainly helped me to improve my digging and recording skills, as well as enabling me to see the connections between the work I’ve been doing in the office and the work that goes on on site. Being able to spend, probably, the sunniest week of the year so far outside hasn’t been too bad either!
As I approach the mid-way point of my internship, I’m really pleased with the range of work I’ve had the opportunity to take part in and I’m feeling very optimistic about how the skills I’ve learnt here will impact on a future career.
Eleanor