Volunteer opportunities

CSA receives many enquiries for information on volunteering - but we don't undertake fieldwork so there are no opportunities with CSA to take part in excavations. However, we can provide information on who does offer excavation work. There are a number of aspects of our work for which we need volunteers:

In the CSA Office

We have a small team who regularly help with the mailings of our publications. If you have a couple of hours to spare and live within easy reach of Edinburgh, why not join the team? - tea and biscuits provided! Other opportunities exist within the office to undertake small projects which would greatly help CSA - creating and updating databases, and other administrative work.

With CSA Outreach Team

Our outreach programme is under increasing demand - for CSA to participate in events and also to provide resources. CSA undertakes to participate in at least three events a year, by running archaeologically themed workshops. We always need volunteers to help run workshops, which promote archaeology to the public. The majority of these involve working with children. If you are interested, contact Fiona Davidson, the Assistant Director, who will be able to tell you when and where the next outreach event will be held. Managing the equipment, including replacing materials and keeping it in good order, is a time consuming job for the staff - anyone who could spare a couple of hours regularly to do this would be very much appreciated.

With the Young Archaeologists' Club (YAC)

YAC is the other area which has regular opportunities for volunteers. The branches in Scotland are run by volunteers. We are always grateful to anyone who can lend a hand, whether it is someone who is interested in becoming an assistant, or simply a regular helper. You can get involved in helping supervise on trips, helping to run craft sessions, or planning the programme. There are still huge gaps in the Scottish Network where we have children desperate to join a YAC branch, but where none exist near their home. You do not need to be an archaeologist to run a branch - an ability to work well with children is the best qualification. If you would like to know more about setting up and running a branch, contac t Fiona Davidson, the YAC Scottish Network Co-ordinator.

With Scottish Archaeology Month (SAM)

SAM is CSA’s flagship public initiative held every September, where a range of events, from excavation open days and guided tours of sites to family activity days, exhibitions and crafts workshops, is staged by a variety of groups from the archaeological community. As the initiative gets bigger, the need for more volunteers increases! There are a number of opportunities ranging from helping with databases and mailings to visiting events and writing short reports and taking photographs of events.

If you are interested in any of the above volunteer opportunities please contact us- we'd love to hear from you! To find out what its like to be a CSA volunteer visit the CSA Volunteer page.

Please note: all opportunities that involve working with children require volunteers to go through the Disclosure Scotland process to comply with child protection legislation.