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 offices etc). Archaeology is part of the planning permission and all developments need to fulfil an archaeological program.

Now when it comes to research excavations, the funding comes from different bodies such as professional societies and academic institutions. Archaeologists can apply for grants for their research to these various institutions. One way kids would be able to help is by raising private funds or setting up a crowdfunding page and raise money for a project. If you have a particular project in mind though, I would suggest checking all the bodies that offer grants, including the Heritage Lottery Fund which is one of the main funders for the UK.

The main problem with limited funding is that there is usually not enough money for the post-excavation. Archaeology is not just about the digging and post-excavation is a lengthy and costly process that cannot be budgeted in advance as no one knows what an excavation will yield. That’s why when setting up an archaeological project, it is very important to take this into account and keep in mind the cost of finds’ processing, analysis, specialists reports, conservation and report writing.

Odile, December 2025