Abby Cavanagh

Current position

Graduate Archaeologist at Everick Heritage

Where did you study? 

The University of Queensland. I completed a Bachelor of Arts with an Extended major in Archaeology and a minor in Anthropology. After taking 2020 off to work and find a topic, I have returned to complete my Honours thesis.

How did you become interested in archaeology? 

In high school I took ancient and modern history which got me interested in the past and the world around me. From there I took a gamble and applied for archaeology at university. Since then, I have learnt so much from so many different subfields of the discipline e.g., from what gives glass its colour, to the effect of sea level rise on Aboriginal cultural heritage sites.

What archaeological projects are you working on at the moment? 

I am currently working in cultural heritage management in Australia while undertaking my Honours research about relatively dating Aboriginal culturally modified trees.

Tell us about one of your most interesting archaeological discoveries. 

Last year in Toowoomba, QLD I was on a large excavation of a wooden structure that was found under a road. We found a number of glass and ceramic wares but the least expected was a whole intact bicycle wheel with the spokes.

Tell us about a funny / disastrous / amazing experience that you have had while doing archaeology. 

It is always fun to be out on a survey and come across a snake or other small wildlife. While biodiversity teams try to catch and release in an area where they won’t be harmed from the activities, our team get to watch in horror and excitement as someone juggles a 2m snake.

What’s your favourite part of being an archaeologist? 

There is always something new. Something new to learn, to see and people to meet.