Local histories indicate that an Elizabethan armada beacon was built on a mound that's now part of St Dominic’s Sixth Form College, and a late-18th century tower that stood on the same site was demolished in 1968. This project created opportunities for young people to try archaeology, exploring what they could learn from what remained below ground.
The college developed this project in recognition that young people from Harrow’s ethnically diverse community wouldn’t typically have the opportunity to consider a career in archaeology. Field schools and skills training sessions with a local archaeology company helped young people from the college and local schools learn practical skills. These included GPS and geophysical surveying, archaeological photography and drawing and identifying finds, meaning the young people were also part of rediscovering local history.
Melanie, a young participant in the digs, said: “I've learnt how to do new things – like when we were scanning the ground to see what was underneath and how to measure out a block [of ground to be excavated].”
Public outreach lectures and events with the local museum, Headstone Manor, shared the project’s work with the wider community. So too did a Festival of Archaeology in 2025, aimed at young children and families to inspire curiosity about local history and archaeology.
Louis Leeves, Head of Classics at St Dominic’s and project lead, said: “Our activities were free thanks to the generous support of the Heritage Fund so that we could include people from all different types of backgrounds. The project was received with great enthusiasm by the students; it was lovely to give them this opportunity to learn some practical archaeological skills.”
