Jorvik Dig Archaeological Adventure, York: review

Growing up, I always fancied being an archaeologist (slightly still do) – so it was no surprise that one of my favourite things to do in York with kids was getting to break out a trowel at Jorvik Dig: An Archaeological Adventure.

review visit/contains affiliate links*

The sister attraction to Jorvik Viking Centre – which really is unmissable on a family holiday in York – it’s a fantastic introduction to some of the real-life history uncovered around the city.

And while my nine-year-old was initially a bit unconvinced, it only took minutes before she was marvelling at the artefacts on display and squeaking ‘wow wow wow wow’ as she uncovered some replicas herself.

Although she might be slightly under the impression that all you need is a trowel and you’re guaranteed to find all kinds of fascinating buried history!

The visit to Dig: An Archaeological Adventurewas split into three sections – four if you count the chance to sit out in the little garden after we arrived slightly early for our time slot.

Jorvik Dig is included with entry to over 20 other attractions as part of the York City Pass – click here to buy

First up, answering the question of what does an archaeologist actually do, with one of the knowledgeable members of staff (also an archaeologist) chatting about the biggest digs in York and the most important finds.

Minnie was delighted to discover she’s got a knack for identifying animal skulls (you never know what might come in handy) – and all the kids were gruesomely fascinated by seeing a replica of the world’s biggest coprolite.

Yes, the largest fossilised poo in the world was dug up in York, measuring an alarming 20cm by 5cm.

But beyond making everyone grimace, it illustrated just how much archaeologists can learn from a single slightly icky find, with scientific analysis showing it dates from the 9th century, from a Viking who seemed to live outside the main settlement, and who had a parasitic disease. Lovely!

At which point, we were let loose for a bit of digging ourselves in the four excavation pits, replicas of real dig sites around York, which cover Roman, Viking, medieval and Victorian periods.

Although happily, there’s synthetic ‘soil’ to dig through rather than the real thing, which means you don’t need authentic archaeologist wellies and you don’t need to worry about getting it in your eyes from an enthusiastic trowelling companion.

With a short time on each pit, everyone gets a chance to see what they can uncover – you’re likely to stumble across something wherever you look, but there’s still an element of luck as to what you find.

Along the way, we unearthed bones, a Latin inscription and evidence of old houses and buildings (although no coprolites!). But discovering something is only the first part.

The next trick is often trying to work out what you’ve uncovered – sometimes not always as obvious as you might think (without years of archaeological study, at least) – with staff coming round to offer tips and let you know if your guesses are right.

And to finish, there’s a little museum at Jorvik Dig to complete the archaeological adventure – some of the finds are in the Jorvik Viking Centre itself, which we visited later.

I recommend combining the two if you’re visiting York with kids, as it adds a really fun extra level to each experience.

Check out my Jorvik Viking Centre review after our visit to the fun family attraction

After checking out the dried fish and piles of furs in the Viking boat, there were displays in the glass cases ranging from old shoes to jewellery, pots to games pieces.

There’s something so fascinating about identifying something which is almost identical today yet hundreds of years old – the dominoes might be a bit more battered than our set, but otherwise they wouldn’t look out of place.

Not forgetting the skeleton in the final small room – one to show the way it would look as you excavated, plus another display in a glass case, with more detail on what’s involved if you did really uncover bones.

You can also bypass any of the rooms if you prefer, all the small museum galleries lead back onto the main hall where the initial talk takes place, with the dig area off to the other side.

While a few interactive elements were not an option during our visit, there’s still plenty to entertain and get hands on during the visit to Jorvik Dig.

And with a chance to play at being an archaeologist (even just for half an hour) and a place which could convince my daughter that she wasn’t too grown-up to enjoy a bit of digging, this was one archaeological adventure I was very happy we had unearthed.

Need to know: Jorvik Dig review

Tickets cost £10.50 for adults, £9.50 for kids, including free return admission for 12 months afterwards. There are family tickets available, including options for families of five, while kids age three and under go free.

You can also get joint admission to Jorvik Dig, Barley Hall and the Jorvik Viking Centre priced £24 for adults, £19 for kids, with family tickets available. There are free tickets for kids aged under five.

Both attractions are also included with the York Pass – click here to buy

Tesco Days Out vouchers can also be used for entry to Jorvik Dig (although not for the joint entry option).

There are timed entry slots with limited numbers for each, so prebooking is recommended. The timeslots run every 30 minutes – we spent around 90 minutes there in total, although you can spend as little or as long as you like in the museum.

Opening times for Jorvik Dig vary throughout the year – during the summer holidays, it’s open from 10am to 5pm, and 10am to 4pm during October half-term, but afternoons only during November and December.

Jorvik Dig is aimed at kids aged five to 12 – the play area for younger kids is currently closed. There are also some tours aimed at adults, called Dig Deeper.

The attraction is set within St Saviour’s Church on St Saviourgate, not far from Whipmawhopmagate and The Shambles, and around a five-minute walk from the Jorvik Viking Centre.

PIN FOR LATER: JORVIK DIG ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVENTURE

Disclosure: Our entry to Jorvik Dig was free for the purposes of review – all opinions (and childhood desire to be an archaeologist) are my own. This post contains affiliate links: any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission

Images copyright MummyTravels

LIKED THIS? SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER