Archaeology Open Day

6 September 2025

Step behind the hoardings and see history uncovered!

On Saturday 6 September, Hertford’s main site will be open for visitors to view finds discovered by Oxford Archaeology during excavations for the College’s new library.

Archaeologists will be on hand to reveal and explain their discoveries, including artefacts from Oxford’s medieval book-making quarter and the star find – a perfectly preserved 500-year-old ‘reading stone’, used to magnify text before the invention of spectacles.

As well as experiencing a guided site tour, visitors will be able to look round the Chapel and browse a special display of historic books from the College Library. Refreshments are also available.

Opportunities to excavate at this scale within an Oxford college quadrangle are extremely rare – making this Open Day a unique chance to see the city’s medieval past and its educational future side by side.

When: Saturday 6 September 2025, 10.30am – 3.30pm
Where: Old Quad, Hertford College, Catte Street, Oxford OX1 3BW
Entry: Free – no booking required