It’s that time of year again…

Your Christmas tree is up, Christmas songs playing on a loop, your Christmas cards are all sent and you’ve bought enough food to feed a small army- you’re all set!

But… Oh no! You’ve forgotten to buy some stocking fillers for your beloved archaeologist child/friend/other half/pub acquaintance (delete as appropriate!)

But don’t panic, I’ve prepared a list of gifts perfect for the archaeologist in your life. Some are handy little bits of kit for the field (you’ll be hearing some trade secrets here- I hope you’re grateful!) Others are a bit more luxurious, some archaeology bling if you will, for those of us who are more desk based- and at this time of year that’s most of us!

So just relax and read on, let’s get those all-important stocking fillers sorted!

Funky T-Shirts

Archaeologists are all about the dig chic. Now you may be wondering,

‘Why? You’ll be covered in mud by the end of the day- what’s the point?’

You make a very astute point but although we archaeologists aren’t necessarily obsessed with Paris fashion week (the styles featured there show a bit too much skin to conform with Health and Safety regulations), we still like to dress to impress (even if we only impress each other!)

And as this T-Shirt shows, the punnier the better! 😉 Any archaeologist loves a good pun so with this dig related example, you can’t go wrong!

Or maybe this example of an inside archaeology joke is more their cup of tea. There’s no truth in this statement of course…

With these classy shirts, your archaeologist will be the envy of everyone come January!

Winter themed

If you’d rather get them something useful for 2017, then Winter can be a cruel time for those in the field. To avoid your loved one getting frostbite here’s a few stocking sized gifts to keep them toasty.

OK, so the tea bags may not quite fit in your stocking but trust me, aside from beer, tea is the staple beverage for archaeologists. This humongous bags may seem a bit over the top but trust me, those 1200 teabags will last a good few weeks (yeah, I wasn’t joking, a lot of tea is consumed in archaeology!)

I’m more of a coffee drinker myself (dodges the thrown trowels of the tea drinking masses). So I’ve included some lovely flavoured coffee for those who need the extra caffeine to function.

And regardless of our preferred hot beverage I think we can all agree that this Munsell chart travel mug is both practical and useful; a handy comparison chart to help with your contexts sheets whilst keeping your hands warm enough to write.

And if a hot drink doesn’t quite cut the mustard then buy a few of these handwarmers for them to tuck into their gloves. They’ll be eternally grateful- as will their supervisors for the improved legibility of their context sheets!

Away Work

If the archaeologist in question does a lot of away work, then there’s a few items you could get make their lives easier.

A decent away bag is essential- a large weekend bag like this one should be perfect if like me you’ve perfected the rolled packing technique. There’s not always a lot of spare room for personal items when there’s a big team heading to one site. So, a compact bag with lots of pockets is very useful for those weeks away.

And for all those Winter evenings in cosy accommodation what can be better than a good film? But if there’s nothing on the TV and if you’re internet isn’t good enough to stream anything then a carry case is the perfect solution. The archaeologist in question can win a lot of friends by taking a range of films to suit all tastes. They can also pack CD’s for musical entertainment for those journeys to and from site. Their increase in popularity will mean they’ll love you forever!

In a similar vein, you can never go wrong with a pack of cards for evening entertainment. This British Museum pack means we can geek out whilst working out who’s the best poker player!

Treat them, they deserve it!

If you want to make them feel as important as they are, why not order them some business cards with their title on. We often give out our contact details to clients so get them this card case as well so they can look super professional when they ask to be updated on progress.

If your archaeologist is a jewellery lover they might like these stylish archaeology themed pieces. Not only will jewellery always gain you brownie points but trowels are our most treasured bit of kit, so it’s the perfect homage to our favourite tool!

Dry hands, especially those have taken on the texture of sandpaper, is never pleasant. So make sure your archaeologists’ hands are soft and hydrated with these quality hand creams from the Body Shop. And whilst you’re battling the Christmas crowds, feel free to pick up some lip balm- no one needs wind chapped lips!

A weekend treat?

One last idea that is a little more outside the box, is to buy them a voucher for an experience. My suggestion is based on personal experience. Escape rooms are a popular craze across the country and they involve being locked in a room for an hour and trying to escape using a few clues and by working as a team. Allen Archaeology’s local venues are in Nottingham and at one Escapologic, I even found an archaeology themed escape experience. The Crypt-ic room involves a pitch-black room, a couple of lanterns and finding clues in a crypt- just like the day job (except the skeleton is plastic, but it smells a lot sweeter!) I’m sure there are many more enters across the country and though not all may have an archaeology themed room, I still guarantee that anyone who’s chosen archaeology as a career will enjoy this experience- we all love a good puzzle!

So, there you go! A nice range of last minute gifts! Hope it’s given you some inspiration but just as a reminder, if you want to branch out on your own then please no dinosaur themed presents (that’s paleontology, completely different) and just you don’t mention Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, you should be fine!

Lastly bear in mind that there are a lot of practical presents on this list because despite our reputations we are quite a practical bunch, and usually more than a little work-obsessed!

Merry Christmas everyone!