The York Branch of the Young Archaeologists Club

The YYAC in its current form is more than five years old now and we have an active membership. We are a branch of the national Young Archaeologists Club for children aged 9 - 16 years of age.

When do we meet?

We meet on the second Saturday of the month. Our meetings usually last for two hours from 2:00pm until 4:00pm. Sometimes the hours vary according to what we are doing.

Where do we meet?

We currently have two “home” meeting places: If we are doing an indoor activity we now meet at the Yorkshire Museum in York. We very often meet at places of interest or if we need to work out doors at Murton Park (at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, just by the Hull Road / A64 roundabout). One of the fun things about archaeology is getting out and about, so we do not always meet at “home”, we often meet at sites and events of interest in the area.

How much does it cost?

We make a charge of £2 per meeting to cover costs of things like our newsletter and equipment for activities. Sometimes there may be an extra cost for a particular meeting, where we are being charged to visit. On these occasions we may need to charge more, but we will warn you in advance of any extra charge.

What kinds of thing do we get up to?

Our meetings vary. We may do craft activities or experimental archaeology such as making and using daub or looking at dye making. We also go on visits around York itself, looking at the townscape and learning to use our powers of observation to find evidence of past activities. Some of our visits are to excavations in progress, (like St Leonard’s Hospital with York Archaeological Trust) other visits are to particular sites such as Wharram Percey, Fountains Abby or the Ryedale Folk Museum.

In 2003 and 2004 we were lucky enough to have our own trench as part of the Castle Howard excavations (following on from Time Team). In 2005 we were involved with a community archaeology dig at Dunnington. This gives us a chance to experience the practical side of archaeology, digging, recording, finds work and geophysics. In 2006 we helped with the excavation of a Romano British farmstead near Malton.

How do we get to places outside York?

The club is a little too small to run to minibuses so we ask parents to bring members to the meeting venue and pick them up again. For this reason we try to ensure that we use the Yorkshire Museum and Murton Park wherever possible.

How do we keep members informed?

Through our own Wiki of course. We also produce a monthly newsletter; this allows us to keep members and parents informed about what is going on. We also use the newsletter to say a bit about what we did at the last meeting and to prepare members for the next meeting. Of course members are also free to write their own articles about things that they have been up to on the Wiki. We distribute the newsletter by email if you have an address or by post otherwise.

What do I do next?

You don’t have to join the national YAC to be a member of YYAC but we think it’s a good idea because you will keep up to date on the things that national YAC is doing. You can join by going to the National YAC Membership page. If you wish to join YYAC you need to be aged 9 - 16, to join contact Jon Kenny by email by clicking on his name.