Festival of British Archaeology – July 16-31, 2024

History of Festival of British Archaeology

The Festival of British Archaeology is an annual fortnight-long festival organized by the Council for British Archaeology (C.B.A.). Its events take place across the United Kingdom, in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The festival began in 1990 with National Archaeology Day, which featured ten distinct events. It was first held in September, in conjunction with European Heritage Days. The C.B.A., on the other hand, decided to withdraw from European Heritage Days and relocate the event to July to take advantage of the summer fieldwork opportunities. In 2003, the festival expanded to a week-long event with 195 events, and in 2005, it was renamed the National Archaeology Week and became a nine-day festival.

National Archaeology Week was renamed the Festival of Archaeology by the C.B.A. The festival will take place annually in July. It has been tied to the European Archaeology Days since 2020, which are organized by the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research, governed by the French Ministry of Culture. The British Archaeological Association was established in 1843 to encourage, support, and disseminate high-quality research on the subjects of Western archaeology and the Middle Ages.

The association’s goal was to create communication between self-identified professionals and local archaeologists, similar to the French Congres Archaeologique or the British Association for the Advancement of Science’s yearly gatherings.