»I became the mother of twins before I started my studies«

I applied for prehistoric archaeology via the quota 2 [Danish admissions system, ed.] two years in a row without getting in. I had an anxiety attack at my German exam, and I therefore got a grade which indicated that I did not know two words in German, and this affected my grade point average. But I got in the third time.

I am educated as a hairdresser, but have always had a dream about archaeology. Going down the university path wasn’t on the cards when I grew up. My social background sent me in a different direction. But it does not have to be that way in a country and a time that we live in. It just took me a while to figure out that this choice was my choice, and that my dream of going to university wasn’t that far off after all.

Written history is that of the victor

I have always been fascinated by trying to understand the past and putting it into the context of the present. In many ways, archaeology is a search for shadows in the ground. I like the collection of the data, which can be put together in many different ways, and then the perspectives can be completely different.

Prehistoric archaeology covers the time until we have written sources. And what I find particularly interesting are the specific, historical traces of people, and not people’s interpretation of what happened. What remains of written history will always be that of the victor, which is also an exciting aspect. But prehistoric archaeology is somehow more concrete.

Advantage of experience

I was the mother of twins before I started my studies after the summer holidays. I’m somehow very proud of that, and I’m very happy to be able to show our kids that just because you’ve walked down one path, you don’t have to stay on it. And I think it’s nice to involve them in archaeology. They already know what a dolmen is, and they are only two and a half.

In many ways, archaeology is a search for shadows in the ground

I continue to stick to the hairdressing profession, and I am self-employed with my own salon, where I work about 20 hours a week. I have an eight-hours-a-week plus student job at Museum Vestsjælland so I have to have a very scheduled daily life. But I work really well in systems and always have. And I’m lucky that my studies are also my hobby, so I don’t consider it a burden to have to read 200 pages a week.

I think it is an advantage that I have age and experience. I know my way of learning and working, and I know where my pitfalls are when it comes to procrastination and distractions. In fact, I don’t think I would have been ready for the study if I had come straight from secondary school. I’m quite shy and introverted, but the hairdressing profession has opened my eyes to how I can take part in social life on my own terms, and this has helped me here at the university. I also lacked some self-discipline, and this is something that the studies require.

Washing bones and excavating medieval towns

At Museum Vestsjælland my work includes washing bones. In general, I wash and catalogue finds and register them in our database. This summer I have been involved in excavating a dolmen in Skælskør, and I have also been out excavating a medieval town near Kalundborg called Birkende.

I’m really looking forward to the subject archaeological theory next semester, because it offers a lot of independent thinking, and you can challenge some of the theses with your own reflections.

You should enjoy going to university. Here you really have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the material, and I think it is important to appreciate that instead of thinking that you just have to get through quickly and get your diploma.