Volunteering
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Can I take part in the Roman Magna excavations?
Joining the excavations at Magna is a two week commitment. There are a very limited number of places in each period.
Age – Volunteers on our excavations need to be 16 years and accompanied by a responsible adult or over 18. This is due to the long days and physical work that is involved in excavating.
Fitness – Excavation is physically demanding. If you decide to join us on the excavations you will need to have a good level of physical fitness, to carry out tasks such as using a spade, wheeling barrows of soil, lifting buckets, and kneeling and trowelling. We aim to make your experience with us a well-rounded one: we want you to leave feeling you have had a taste of most, if not all aspects of field archaeology, and that you have become part of a team.
If you wish to have more information, please head to our Vindolanda website where you can see an example of a typical day on-site and get packing lists and more. Please do not hesitate to contact our team on 01434 344 277 or email info@vindolanda.com before you make your booking if you’d like to speak to someone about your requirement or if you have questions.
2026 Dates: We are currently fully booked for 2025.
Period 1: 6th April – 17th April 2026
Period 2: 20th April – 1st May 2026
Period 3: 4th May – 15th May 2026
Period 4: 18th May – 29th May 2026
Period 5: 1st June – 12th June 2026
Period 6: 15th June – 26th June 2026
Period 7: 29th June – 10th July 2026
Period 8: 13th July – 24th July 2026 (Excavate & Stay available, own transport to site required)
Period 9: 27th July – 7th August 2026 (Excavate & Stay available, own transport to site required)
Period 10: 10th August – 21st August 2026 (Excavate & Stay available, own transport to site required)
Period 11: 24th August – 4th September 2026
Period 12: 7th September – 18th September 2026
Costs & Booking:
Excavate Only Place: £275
Excavate & Stay – Single Room: £1350
Excavate & Stay – Twin Room: £1950
Extra Nights: Single Room £70 Double/Twin: £105
A deposit of £600 for Hedley Centre bookings will be taken at the time of booking. You will receive a confirmation email with a link to final payments
We ask that all our volunteer excavators become Friends of Vindolanda before they arrive to excavate. This means they will be able to visit our sites outside of the excavations and will be invited to our annual Friends Day which rounds up the year and the excavations.
Magna Excavations are now fully booked for the 2025 season. In the unlikely event of cancellations, these will be announced through our Vindolanda Facebook page. Our monthly newsletter is a great way to find out the latest updates from the site and how to visit the excavations when they begin in July.
