From chance encounter to dream career: meet archaeologist Dr Bunny Waring

Hi Bunny! Can you tell us what first sparked your interest in archaeology?

It was completely accidental. When I was at college, I became seriously ill and spent a long time in hospital. By the time I returned, I knew I wasn't going to pass my exams, so I went to the work experience office and asked if they could find me something connected to history or art.

They arranged a placement with Wessex Archaeology. I spent time in the finds room washing pottery and recording artefacts, then went out into the field to help with surveys. I absolutely loved it.

I'd always enjoyed history, but I didn't realise archaeology was something you could actually do as a career. Suddenly I was outdoors, travelling, learning new things, recording history and meeting interesting people. It brought together everything I enjoyed – being outside, photography, drawing, science and history -  I was hooked from day one.

What do you love most about archaeology?

Two things: the camaraderie and the cause.

Archaeology has an incredible sense of community. Especially on excavations, you can spend weeks or months working and living closely together, and the friendships you build often grow quickly but last a lifetime.

What I mean by cause is that archaeology is far more relevant than people realise. People often think it's about old objects and ancient sites, but everything we discover helps us understand the world around us today. Whether you're studying human remains, environmental evidence, artefacts, political constructs, or historical records, you're contributing to a better understanding of society, communities and the way people live.

It's a subject that constantly connects the past with the present and helps to recontextualise cultures around the world.

After a decade in commercial archaeology, what made you decide to go to university as a mature student?

Originally, I only planned to get a degree and then go straight back into commercial archaeology. I was quite senior in the roles I was given, but not having a degree prevented me from getting promoted.

I enrolled as a mature student at the University of Reading and, within a few months, realised there was a whole world of opportunities I hadn't known existed.

I'd been working in archaeology for years, but university introduced me to new areas of research, different ways of thinking and opportunities to work internationally. It also helped me appreciate the relationship between both commercial and academic archaeology, and between archaeology, classics and ancient history. They're often seen as separate worlds, but they're actually complementary and both are incredibly important.

Going back into education was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

After completing your Master’s at Reading , you came up to Newcastle to embark on a PhD. What made you choose Newcastle University?

I was initially drawn here because of the expertise within the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. My research focused on the Roman dictator Sulla, and I wanted to work with Professor Federico Santangelo, who is one of the leading experts in the Roman Republic.

But once I arrived, Newcastle quickly became far more than a place to study. The opportunities were fantastic, the support was incredible and I immediately felt part of the university community. I was able to continue teaching alongside my research, and it became a place where I could fully develop as both an archaeologist and an academic.

As someone who has lived in four countries and 28 cities, five years later Newcastle is still the only place I've ever called home. Whatever happens next, Newcastle gets my bones!  

Can you tell us more about Sulla and your PhD research?

My research explored Sulla, a Roman dictator who lived in the first century BC. Traditionally, historians tend to focus on whether Sulla was a hero or a villain, but I wanted to move away from those labels and the personality and look at the evidence he left behind.

I studied coins, inscriptions, monuments, texts and other material culture to understand what actually changed during his period of power and how those changes influenced later Roman society. What fascinates me is how many ideas and systems that emerged during that period still influence the modern world today.

The project was ambitious but bringing archaeology and classics together was more fruitful than I expected and the project has now developed into a book, which is currently in preparation for publication. So, watch this space!

What's the most memorable thing you've ever uncovered on an excavation?

Most of the time folks want to know if I've found gold (yes!) and I've worked on some remarkable sites, but my favourite find is actually a small ceramic face discovered during an excavation in Wixoe near Colchester.

The site appeared to have experienced a violent event, and we found a series of small pits where people had quickly buried possessions for safekeeping. At the bottom of one of those pits was a ceramic image of a smiling woman.

She wasn't particularly valuable in financial terms, but somebody had carefully removed her from a larger object and hidden her. That tells us she was important to someone.

She had been carefully made and had some distinctive features. Perhaps we’ll never know exactly who she represented, but there was a very human story attached to her. That's what made the discovery so special.

What's the biggest misconception people have about archaeology?

Paintbrushes!

Films and television have created this image of archaeologists carefully brushing sand away from treasures all day. The reality is much more varied.

Archaeology involves excavation, photography, environmental science, laboratory analysis, surveying, digital technologies, conservation and much more. It's a surprisingly broad profession that combines science, humanities and practical skills. It's also often much faster-paced than people expect and can be hard but rewarding work.

Archaeology isn't just about finding things. It's about understanding and protecting the stories those things tell. Commercial sites often find and protect what might otherwise be destroyed by building work, while academic sites target areas that can help us to understand the past and the present.

What does a career in archaeology actually look like?

It depends what interests you, but no two days are the same. You might spend one project excavating a construction site, another analysing finds in a lab, and another using drone photography or digital survey techniques. You could be working in a city centre, on a rural landscape project or at an internationally significant research excavation.

One of the things I love about archaeology is that it's constantly changing. Every site presents new challenges and new opportunities to learn. You also develop an incredibly wide range of transferable skills, from project management and teamwork to research, data analysis, survey skills, and public engagement.

What advice would you give to students and recent graduates considering archaeology as a career?

Don't be intimidated by what you don't know. Everyone starts somewhere. Even after more than 20 years in archaeology, I still arrive at new sites where I have to spend time learning about the landscape and understanding what I'm looking at. We call it ‘getting your eye in’!

Be willing to ask questions, learn from others and take opportunities when they appear.

I'd also encourage people to gain practical experience if they can. Commercial archaeology, volunteering opportunities and university excavations are fantastic ways to develop skills and discover which parts of the profession excite you most. Even if you don’t want to dig, it’s good to understand the whole process: from a desk-based assessment to post-excavation report writing and analysis.

And my practical advice? Drink plenty of water and take a kneeling pad – not a paintbrush!

Alongside your academic career and fieldwork, you're also involved in public engagement projects – including your website Archaeology Grrl. Why is that important to you?

I believe that archaeology should be accessible to everyone. I come from a working class background where no one in generations before me has been to university, and there’s definitely a thing of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’.

I created Archaeology Grrl because I wanted to share knowledge beyond universities and encourage people to engage with history, archaeology and heritage regardless of their background.

I'm also currently involved in the National Trust's Sparking Curiosity project at Cragside, which explores the experience of early electric lighting at the historic house. It's a fantastic example of how research can be transformed into something interactive and engaging for the public.

For me, archaeology isn't just about discovering the past. It's about helping people connect with it. I want to gather knowledge, make it accessible to people, and let them interpret it and grow it in their own ways.

Finally, what keeps you excited about archaeology after all these years?

The fact that there's always something new to learn. Every site, every object and every project tells a story. Sometimes it's a major historical question, sometimes it’s about the ethics of archaeology, and sometimes it's a simple, small human detail that has survived for hundreds or even thousands of years.

That's what archaeology is really about: people. Helping to uncover their stories, share them and preserve them for future generations still feels as exciting today as it did when I first arrived on site 21 years ago.

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