Arranging a visit to an archaeological site might be a daunting prospect for any teacher. The Scotland’s Rural Past team can make this easier for you by helping you to organise and arrange guided visits to rural settlement sites close to your school. Accompanied by an archaeologist, your class can see and interpret archaeological remains and landscapes at first hand.

As pupils explore an historic rural settlement site they can collect evidence and make notes of their observations about the site, just as an archaeologist would do. By taking part in simple archaeological activities, including sketching, measuring, drawing and interpreting a site, pupils can identify the archaeological evidence to build their own understanding of farming life in the past while developing their observation and recording skills.

Classroom visits can also be arranged in preparation of a site visit, and as a follow up to their on-site investigations.

Enquiries about site visits should be made to Brian Wilkinson, the SRP Interpretation Officer, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or telephone 0131 662 1456.

As the SRP project progresses, resources will be added to the education section of the website to enable teachers to plan their own visits to rural settlement sites. In the meantime, information on undertaking your own site visits can be found in the Outdoor Activities section of the National Trust for Scotland’s Archaeology for Schools website - http://www.ntseducation.org.uk/archaeologyforschools/activities.htm.

The following are just some examples of how to apply some of the archaeological fieldwork techniques which pupils can undertake on a site visit to learning and teaching in the classroom.

Sketching

Measuring

Photography