Archaeologist Kennedy Dold spoke during PRIDE Time on Oct 17.

Dold graduated from Lawrence High School in 2015 and traveled to Scotland to study at the University of Edinburgh. She now has a first-class undergraduate degree in archaeology.

“What made my studies special and what made archaeology special was the people I met along the way,” Dold said. “After all, history is the study of people, and archaeology is the study of people’s trash.”

Dold has conducted a total of 21 weeks of field work in sites in Romania, Italy and the United Kingdom. She spent most of summers at Bamburgh Castle in northeastern England.

“I was working as the environmental supervisor last summer,” Dold said. “I was processing environmental finds because environmental archaeology is extremely important in understanding society. Archaeology is beyond just finding artifacts in the ground.”

By taking soil samples, Dold was able to find out what plants the Anglo-Saxons were planting at Bamburgh Castle, and by that, she was able to find out what color they dyed their clothes.

“Bright blues, bright yellows, bright reds – extremely bright colors,” Dold said.

Dold also went on many hiking trips and trips around Europe, visiting archaeology sites like Roman ruins or Viking sites.