The article details a reporter coming to an archaeological excavation with the archaeology group Mesolithic Deeside for an excavation at Milton of Crathes (Aberdeenshire, Scotland). The site the author visits is a veritable hotspot for prehistoric activity, were over 1,200 Mesolithic tools were unearthed earlier in the year.
     At the test pit, the author gains an overview of the site from Site Director Ali Cameron who says: "We found more than 1,200 flints [pieces of worked stone] when we were field-walking here in March. The site has been known for a while - a retired biochemist, Dr John Grieve, collected flints here in the 1970s, and further west on the south side of the Dee, a lady who lived there, Hilda Paterson, is said to have filled her pockets with flints. We've dug test pits looking for evidence of people from 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. They dropped pieces of flint here when they were making or repairing tools."
     Apart from the large variety of finds, the archaeologists collect the finds and measure them inside the test-pit grids to show finds concentrations across the site.
     Mesolithic Deeside is always looking for more volunteers and there is a ton of reasons to get involved with the project. "We all really enjoy doing this sort of work," says Ali. "We love being outside, meeting people, we enjoy digging, finding flints, the social aspect, home baking - all sorts of different things. This project helps broaden our understanding of early prehistoric human activity in Deeside; we like knowing we're contributing to finding out what this area was like in the past. And we're always looking for new fields to explore!"

Edited from The Courier (25 November 2021)