By Keane Muraoka-Robertson

Upper school Latin teacher Derek Wilairat participated in a Roman archaeological dig in England with the Earthwatch program this July. Wilairat received funding from Blake Schlei Lindsley ’92 to participate in the program to enrich his knowledge of the Classics.

Earthwatch is an organization that hosts expeditions around the world.

Wilairat stayed in South Shield, a city in northeast England, with 10 other participants. Individuals interested in archaeology, college students studying archaeology and teachers who had also received funding from their schools participated,

Wilairat worked with professional archaeologists at Arbeia, a Roman fort.

“It’s a lot of digging, moving earth around and also cataloging everything very carefully,” Wilairat said. “You have to keep track of where everything is found, diagram the ground you’re working on and record the data. It’s very scientific.”

Wilairat’s most memorable trip in England was to Hadrian’s Wall.

“I learned a lot about the history of Roman Britain,” Wilairat said. “I also learned a lot about Hadrian’s wall in great detail, which was actually near where I was working at the fort.”

Wilairat plans to incorporate the history the of Hadrian’s Wall into his daily lessons.