Karyn Cook

Current position

Principal Consultant (Historic Heritage) at Umwelt, Newcastle NSW.

Where did you study?

Sydney University (Advanced Honours Degree)

How did you become interested in archaeology?

When I was a kid my sister set up a science lab in my room complete with a small sandpit she had buried some toys in. I was maybe 6 or 7 at the time and knew once my spoon-shovel hit that sand that I would become an archaeologist one day!

What archaeological projects are you working on at the moment?

I'm currently working on a pretty important project, being on parental leave following the birth of my son Mack in February.

Tell us about one of your most interesting archaeological discoveries.

All of Umwelt's amazing work in the Newcastle CBD has been incredibly interesting! From tens of thousands of Aboriginal artefacts to former railways buried beneath the street, all of our work there to date has been exciting and surprising.

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

The first remote fieldwork I did was in the Blue Mountains in NSW. We had to hike in and set up a base camp from which we conducted the surveys. After days of trying to reach one particular rock shelter site we finally found it and it was amazing! It contains art and artefacts and is still the largest rock shelter I have ever recorded.

What’s your favourite part of being an archaeologist?

When you find something and can link it back to a person, time or known practice you get an unparalleled insight into and connection with the past. You can read about these things but there's something really thrilling about holding physical evidence of the past in your hand.