Case Study Overview
Students are involved in a detailed investigation of the Ross Female Factory site in Tasmania. They ‘become’ archaeologists and find a variety of objects relating to convict life. They then have to draw on a variety of other sources of evidence to help them ‘interrogate’ and interpret each object, and to discover what it tells them about convict life and conditions.
An interactive entitled, Digging up the past — archaeological dig at the site of a female convict factory, is also available for this case study. The case study has recently been upgraded to a new HTML iPad friendly version.
Case Study unit of work inquiry structure (pdf)
- Teacher’s Guide
- Activity 1: Introducing archaeology
Understanding the main concept(s) raised in the case study - Activity 2: Video visit
Looking at the video segment of this case study and answering questions about it - Activity 3: Carrying out a site study
Six steps to carrying out a successful site study
About the Interactive
Digging up the past — archaeological dig at the site of a female convict factory
You are at the site of the Female Factory at Ross, Tasmania. Your task is to carry out an archaeological dig of the site to recover objects that tell us about the life of female prisoners. Your search can tell us much about our history – if you are skilled enough to make good decisions!
