A young person wearing a high-vis vest and gloves kneels in an archaeological trench and scrapes the soil with a trowel.

Dig Diaries 2025 – Newbattle Abbey College

This summer, members of the YAC have been joining excavations across the UK as part of our annual Dig It! competition. Here we find out all about the dig day with the Archaeology Scotland excavating Newbattle Abbey College in Dalkeith.

On 9th August three lucky young archaeologists had the exciting opportunity to join in with the project. Read on to hear what they got up on to the day…

First, Eva from from Mersey and Dee YAC tell us…

We went to the dig and were welcomed by the on-site archaeologists. I was then shown how to dig using the trowel I’d received prior to our arrival. Later on I was shown how to get a 3D scan of some of the metal that had been found. My favourite part was when we found some wire dating back to WW2. It was fascinating. And as a result of the Dig It Experience, I feel like I know more about archaeology and enjoy it more. I really appreciate the opportunity to take part.

A young person holding a tablet and an adult kneel on the edge of a shallow trench on an archaeological dig.

Next, Elijah from RAF Museum Midlands YAC shares his experiences…

I won a competition to go to the dig in Newbattle and an archaeology dig kit with a trowel, brush notepad and measuring equipment. It was my first dig, and I was really excited to be going.

The archaeologist at the dig were friendly and knowledgeable and knew lots of interesting facts. They showed me how to use lidar with their iPad to create 3-D images of the dig site and objects, which was amazing!

Two young people stand in an archaeological excavation looking at a tablet being held by an adult.

I learnt how to use my trowel and remove the surrounding dirt and materials; we had buckets to collect the dirt and collected any interesting objects in our artifact trays. I was shown how to use microscopes to look more closely at the surface of the objects I found, which was very interesting, and you could see all the different textures and colours.

I was very excited to be going to the dig, and I made some incredible discoveries, like bottle shards, copper wire, a fuel cap and a shotgun cartridge! The day was unbelievable, and I feel much more familiar with archaeology, and I couldn’t recommend it more.

I learnt a lot from the dig and the archaeologists, and I’m really excited about going to my next dig with YAC in September to search for Roman artefacts. Thank you to all the archaeologists for making the day so incredible.

A young person wearing a high-vis vest and gloves kneels in an archaeological trench and scrapes the soil with a trowel. Other adults and young people excavate the site in the background.

This year’s Dig It! bursary was made possible by the kind generoity of the Marsh Charitable Trust. These £80 bursaries were created to help cover the costs of travel, accomodation and/or subsistence for each winner. We are also grateful to Past Horizens for providing our Dig It! winners with havisacks full of archaeological tools to use on the day of their digs.