Sophie Brown

Sophie's graduate story

I graduated from the University of Chester in 2020 with a BA (Hons) in Archaeology. After graduating, I was hired by Oxford Archaeology (OA), a commercial unit, and I am working with the North office at Trinity Burial Ground in Hull as part of the A63 Castle Street Scheme.

I have been with OA for 5 months now and have enjoyed a varied and challenging working environment. I now have 4 months experience excavating skeletons where I have been able to build upon, and use, my previous knowledge learned on the human remains module I studied in my 3rd year with Dr Amy Gray Jones.

For the last month, I have been assisting the on-site post-excavation team as a ‘washer’. Being a ‘washer’ means that I clean and separate (the latter if not already done in the field) the skeletons that have been excavated and mark them for analysis by the osteologists. This role, while it may sound monotonous, has enabled me to interact with skeletons of various ages, health, and condition. I have, therefore, furthered my knowledge of pathological conditions and non-metric traits and have become even more familiar with the various bones in the body, now able to identify much more than I could at university, even with fragmented remains!

The role of commercial archaeologist that I have undertaken since graduating from Chester has only been so enjoyable due to the level of knowledge I already had when joining the team. Without the incredible lecturers, modules and training excavations that I was able to participate in at university, I would have been woefully unprepared for life as a commercial archaeologist.

I cannot thank the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Chester enough for all that they have done for me educationally, practically and emotionally throughout my degree!