International Field School on Site Formation, Stratigraphy, and Geoarchaeology in the Athenian Agora

Location: Athens, Greece

Season: May 31, 2025 to June 7, 2025

Session Dates: May 31 to June 7, 2025

Application Deadline: January 15, 2025

Deadline Type: Exact Date

Website: https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/programs/summer-archaeological-science-courses/geoarchaeology-field-school

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Project Director:
Dr. Panagiotis Karkanas

Project Description:

The Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science in collaboration with the ASCSA Excavations at the Athenian Agora offers a full week-long Field School on Site Formation, Stratigraphy, and Geoarchaeology in the Athenian Agora. Dr. Panagiotis (Takis) Karkanas, Director of the Wiener Laboratory, and Dr. Paul Goldberg, Senior Visiting Professor, Institut für Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie (INA), University of Tübingen, will supervise the intensive field school. Registered students will be involved in interdisciplinary field research in the Athenian Agora primarily focused on archaeological context, geoarchaeology, and material sciences. Through field observations, laboratory analysis, and lectures, students will receive instruction in the study and analysis of archaeological sediments and deposits, as well as gain experience in the recording of stratigraphy and the understanding of site formation processes.

The course will take place from May 31 – June 7, 2025, in Athens, Greece. Applications should be submitted no later than January 15, 2025 via the online application form.

Participants who successfully complete the course of instruction will receive a certificate detailing the content of the field school.

Textbooks: Reconstructing Archaeological Sites 2019 by Panagiotis Karkanas and Paul Goldberg (Wiley Blackwell), Practical and Theoretical Geoarchaeology, 2nd edition 2022 by Paul Goldberg, Richard I. Macphail, C Carey, and Y Zhuang (Blackwell), and Microarchaeology 2010 by Stephen Weiner (Cambridge University Press).

A syllabus will be emailed three weeks before the start of the field school.

Period(s) of Occupation: The American School of Classical Studies has been excavating in the area of the Athenian Agora since 1931, bringing to light the history of the area over a period of 5000 years. Finds range from scattered pieces of pottery of the late Neolithic period (ca. 3000 BC) to the contents of 19th and early 20th century basements. The Agora of the 5th and 4th centuries BC has been the main focus of attention. Scholars have identified the often scanty material remains on the basis of ancient references to the Agora as the center of civic activity of ancient Athens.

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: 1 week

Experience Required: A maximum of 12 students will be accepted for the course. Preference is given to advanced students and post-docs with a background in archaeology, and preferably some exposure to the natural sciences.

Room and Board Arrangements:
Training fee is 450 euros ($500 USD) for the entire week. Accommodation is not provided, but we will offer recommendations and assistance to course participants in order to arrange accommodation themselves.

Academic Credit:
Participants who successfully complete the course of instruction will receive a certificate detailing the content of the field school.