Placement Opportunity with YAC: Amelia
May 2026
Here at the Council for British Archaeology, we really enjoy supporting placement students to gain experience working in archaeology and heritage organisations. We have a long-standing collaboration with the University of York’s Archaeology Department to support their annual cohort of Cultural Heritage Management and Museum Studies MA students. Our recent placement student Amelia tells us about her experience working with YAC HQ, from getting stuck into YAC activities to taking part in an exciting training day at Fulham Palace…
Hello! My name is Amelia Hunter and I’m an MA Cultural Heritage Management student at the University of York. I was lucky enough to gain a placement position with the Young Archaeologists’ Club.
As soon as I arrived at the York offices, I was greeted warmly by the team, who each took their time to introduce themselves and explain their roles and responsibilities to me. It was amazing to hear about various collaborative projects, and the local work and community engagement that CBA team has done. Seeing how passionate everyone was about YAC, and how thoroughly they care about delivering archaeology in a fun and engaging way really made me excited about working with the organisation.
After the initial introduction to the team, I tried out some activities from the YAC website. I was impressed by how there are activities for all ages and abilities, and they cover such a broad range of interests and time periods, so there’s something for everyone. Out of the activities, I chose to try out a recipe for a Medieval Simnel cake– a bread-like fruitcake that traditionally is covered in marzipan. I’m a keen baker, but I’d never tried to make a cake using yeast before, so it was so much fun to see how baking methods have evolved over time (it was also an excellent bonus to have a huge baked treat to bring to the office!). I was then given the opportunity to create a social media post about my cake in time for Easter, when the cake is traditionally eaten. I was able to build up some graphic design skills on Canva, and figure out how to make a post that was as attention-grabbing as it was informative.
The CBA/YAC kindly offered me a place at a YAC Leader Training Day in London. The event was led by the leaders of Brighton YAC, Gemma and Flick, who had put together an incredible resource pack on the Ancient Maya Civilization. This topic was chosen in response to a request within YAC for more world archaeology, specifically, Mesoamerican history. I was impressed by how thoroughly this request for more world history was reflected on and acted on.
The event took place at Fulham Palace, which is a beautiful Grade I listed manor and museum with botanic gardens. I was introduced to some amazing, dedicated leaders of YAC groups from all over the country. The training day itself had three main parts: an archaeological lecture, a show and tell of artefacts (such as traditional turkey feathers, clay whistles, and repro flint heads), and YAC activities. The lecture focused on debunking colonial myths about Mesoamerican/Maya history, such as false histories about human sacrifice. Both Gemma and Flick encouraged us to interrogate what biases we might approach an archaeological subject with.
The presentation emphasised the importance of indigenous voices and alternative interpretations. It was a very important session for the YAC leaders: to teach young archaeologists how to think for themselves and to think critically about evidence they are presented with. Flick and Gemma delivered a comprehensive and thoughtful presentation about Maya history, and explained the strength and weaknesses of different archaeological approaches toward it.
As we worked through the presentation/information pack, all the YAC leaders collectively fed back on its structure and content to make it accessible, informative, and engaging. I appreciated how collaborative the experience was, and how everyone’s opinions (including those without a formal background in archaeology) were listened to. The afternoon was focused on trying out a few activities, including making Guatemalan worry dolls, clay bird whistles, and traditional mesoamerican hot chocolate made with cacao nibs. This was a fun, sociable way to follow up the lecture. I had so much fun sitting around a table with people who were just as passionate about archaeology as me as we got creative with our activities.
I’ve had an excellent time during my placement with YAC. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and open to hearing my ideas, and I’m very grateful for all their help and support. Many thanks to the YAC team!