Odile Rouard

What is the coolest thing you have found? Adelynn (12)

Dear Adelynn, I have to say, one of my favourite sites ever was located in the south of France: it was a necropolis dated to the Merovingian period […]

My team are trying to make an artefact cleaning machine that sprays water or scrubs to clean the artefacts. Do you have any tips on this? Ethan (11)

Dear Ethan, I think it might be very difficult to come up with a machine that could clean archaeological artefacts. First of all, it would have to be […]

We are working on a sketch to prevent illegal digging and artefact theft. For our sketch, we had drones, underground sensors, mobile moving cameras, and radar. What would you recommend? Jaydah (6th grade)

Dear Jaydah, Although it is a lovely idea and, unfortunately, illegal digging of artefact does happen (and especially what we call “night hawking”, when metal detectorists go onto […]

How does limited funding impact the archaeology community? What can kids do to help with that problem and what are some programs that already help or deal with that problem? Sarah (10)

Dear Sarah, I work in commercial archaeology, which is development led and so the funding comes from the developers (the people building the housing estates, or roads, or […]

What is archaeology, and what are some facts about Anubis, the ancient Egyptian deity of funerals, etc? Jaidyn (12)

Dear Jaidyn, Archaeology is the study of past civilisations, although it is not just about ancient cultures: you also have industrial archaeology for example, which is much more […]

I have been researching about how to preserve artifacts from humidity… Zaynab (12)

I have been researching about how to preserve artifacts from humidity and wanted to identify natural materials that can be used to stabilize the relative humidty and protect […]

Would a mobile app to perform LiDAR scans on artifacts or small sections of dig sites be helpful? Wyatt (9)

Would a mobile app to perform LiDAR scans on artifacts or small sections of dig sites including GPS, or small LiDAR use cases not aerial scans of large […]

What issues do you face being an archaeologist when comes to collecting and accessing data? Jasper (12)

Dear Jasper, When archaeologists are writing excavation reports, they make references to many books and articles. In order to place the excavated site in context, they also make […]

Would soft robotics be useful in archaeological tools? Lisa Rose and the Chamberlain Elementary Robotics Team (4th grade)

Would soft robotics be useful in archaeological tools? What kind of conditions should tools be tested in to ensure they work and will not damage artifacts? Soft robotics […]

What is your favourite find from the silk road citadels? Joshua (15) and Luke (12)

The city I was working on in Kazakhstan was called Kuik-Mardan, and it was quite an important site within the Otrar oasis. The town consisted of three parts: […]

Do you know anything about the Anglo-Saxon princess found at Loftus? Joshua (15) and Luke (12)

I have heard about the princess buried in the Street House cemetery near Loftus, which dates back to the 7th century. The excavation of the cemetery took place […]

What is the biggest problem for archaeologists? Shreshta (11)

Dear Shreshta, Archaeologists encounter many different problems but I would say one of the biggest challenges can be the weather! Especially in the winter in the UK: sites […]

I’d like to know what tasks in your job could be great to have a robot help with. What features should it have? Julie (11)

Dear Julie, I’ve had a few similar questions lately about the use of robots in archaeology and to answer truthfully, it would be very difficult to design a […]

What tools do you use and how could the technology be improved? Maddyn, Phoenix-Irie, Riele and Kiana (10)

Dear Maddyn, Phoenix-Irie, Riele and Kiana, I will try and answer your questions (what is a tool that already exists to help an archaeologists to see a clear […]

Is Archaeology an important job and what is Archaeology exactly? Scott (16)

Dear Scott, Archaeology is the study of past civilisations, although it is not just about ancient cultures: you also have industrial archaeology for example, which is much more […]

I’m thinking of studying archaeology at uni and have some questions… Iva (16)

Dear Iva, Joining the YAC is definitely a good idea as you will gain a lot of extra knowledge that will definitely help you, not only for your […]

I am a secondary school student interested in studying archaeology at university. Which subjects are required? Felicia (15)

The good thing about archaeology is that it requires many different skills and as a result, most A-levels will allow you to apply for an undergraduate degree. Of […]

What does a normal day of your job look like? And how often do you work a week? Olivia (14)

Hello Olivia, Working in commercial archaeology can sometimes feel like any other job: you work five days a week, Monday to Friday, usually from 8 in the morning […]

What is photogrammetry? Can it be useful in documenting stepwells for example so that they can be restored as used as a water source again in arid regions? Sabrina (11)

Who was the first person to be born? Andrew (8)

It’s impossible to know who the first person to be born was, but what we do know is that man (or the ancestor of man rather!) appeared around […]

Do you have to sometimes visit other countries? Eva (10)

Archaeology is a fantastic subject because it has many specialities: digging is not all there is to it, you also need to record features (which implies describing their […]

Where are the practice cave drawings? How did they get good before drawing on the caves? Graham Turrell (9)

Cave paintings first appeared in a period called the Upper Palaeolithic: it was more than 40000 years ago! Because it was so long ago, it’s difficult to know […]

How do you know where to dig and what type of equipment do you use for different types of stone and rocks when digging? Jack (11)

Personally, I work in commercial archaeology, and we are called whenever builders start a new site (to build houses, roads or offices). Of course, we check first what […]

I would like to find out if any archeology digs have been done in Horst, the Netherlands? I am also very interested in Roman Cornwall I have a lot of my mother’s side from that area, are there any maps of towns in Cornwall in Roman times? Joshua Keijsers (14)

Hello Joshua, it’s fantastic to see how passionate you are about history and archaeology! Unfortunately, I don’t know much about Dutch archaeology but I asked your question on […]

What was your first archaeology site and was it all that you dreamed about? Isla (10)

Dear Isla, I volunteered on my first archaeological site before I even started studying archaeology at university! The site was a medieval priory in the south of France […]

I just wondered if you have any advice on becoming an archaeologist and what is the most important tool within your whole kit! Alice (9)

Hello Alice, my advice to become an archaeologist would be to start as early as you can! You can join your local Young Archaeologists’ Club, or work on […]

Why have so many archaeological sites been so well-preserved over hundreds of years? What did past generations make of them? Did they realise they were important and know their significance or was it just chance that they survived? Beatrix (11)

Hello Beatrix, site preservation depends on many things: the main one being the geology! If you have a very dry environment (like in Egypt), or on the contrary […]

What do you do with the things you discover after studying them? Rylee (13)

Once the finds have been studied by our specialists, they are either sent to the appropriate museum (although many museums now are running out of storage space) or […]

What do you think archaeologists of the future will find that tells them about us? Rose (7)

Dear Rose, that’s a very interesting question! When you think about it, a lot of what we find from past civilisations is their rubbish, things that were broken […]

Is archaeology a fulfilling field of study? What inspired you to be an archaeologist? Summer (13)

Dear Summer, archaeology is a very diverse field of study so, whatever you are interested in, chances are, your skills will be useful in archaeology! First, you have […]

When did you decide you wanted to become an archaeologist like what inspired you? Ethan (13)

Dear Ethan, it seems to me like I always wanted to become an archaeologist! But I guess what inspired me the most is mythology. And especially Greek and […]

What is your most valuable find? Rye (10)

Well, Rye, I must say I do get asked that question a lot so thank you for asking it on here! In archaeology, the most ‘valuable find’ is […]

Would it be useful for archaeologists have a specifically designed robot that can detect finds for them, and as a result minimise environmental damage? Charlie (14)

First of all, I am not sure if you are aware but archaeologists do use many non-invasive techniques prior to excavation. Those include aerial photography (taking images from […]