The Unearth Fellowship Programme

The Unearth Fellowship provides a transformative learning experience for students and young professionals by engaging them in real-life archaeological projects while expanding opportunities for communities to learn about and engage with their local archaeology.

This programme is hosted by the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City and delivered in collaboration with the British Museum and its partners in the context of a 4-year collaboration.

The programme objectives include but are not limited to:

• Provide hands-on upskilling and post-field experience in archaeology. 

Unearth offers post-graduate students the opportunity to gain practical post-field learning experience in archaeology in the context of a real-life research project. Fellows take part in educational programs and workshops where they learn about past studies in Africa and are exposed to new methods and technologies in the field.

• Introduce students and young professionals to the interdisciplinary aspects of archaeology. 

The Fellowship programme facilitates learning exchanges between archaeologists and cultural heritage professionals to encourage a rounded approach to research, conservation, collections management and community engagement. Through virtual lectures, learning placements, and workshops, Unearth seeks to demonstrate the connections between archaeology, museum practice and related fields such as biochemistry, environmental sciences, science lab technology, history, anthropology, etc.

• Highlight archaeology as a community-centric endeavour. 

Unearth supports fellow groups in designing and delivering a project that interrogates how communities learn and engage with archaeology in Nigeria. Each group is given a small grant and assigned mentor(s). Our goal is to enhance fellows' understanding of archaeology as both a social and scientific practice. These explorations are showcased in a culminating public activation that exhibits findings and connects further communities to the program.