 Chatwin enrolled in October 1966 at the University of Edinburgh to study Archaeology . He had regretted not attending Oxford and had been contemplating going to university for a few years . A visit in December 1965 to the Hermitage in Leningrad sparked his interest in the field of archaeology . Despite winning the Wardrop Prize for the best first year 's work , he found the rigour of academic archaeology tiresome , and he left after two years without taking a degree . 
