This listing expired on July 1, 2018. Please contact gwarden@fus.edu for any updated information.
Location: Firenzuola, IT
Season: July 7, 2018 to July 27, 2018
Deadline Type: Rolling
Program Type:
Field school, Volunteer
RPA Certified:
no
Affiliation:
Franklin University Switzerland
Project Director:
Dr. Gregory Warden, Franklin University Switzerland; Dr. Phil Perkins, the Open University (UK).
Project Description:
The Albagino Field School is an international and interdisciplinary fieldwork project that expands the research initiatives of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project that previously focused on the sanctuary and settlement of Poggio Colla. Albagino is a site in the upper Mugello, at the very edge of Tuscany in the High Apennines, near the small town of Bruscoli, in the Comune of Firenzuola. The site is a small dried-up lake that clearly had a ritual function given the votive bronze figures that were found as sporadic finds a few years ago. Under the auspices of the Archaeological Soprintendenza, non-invasive research (radar and geology) was carried out in 2017. Excavation in 2018 will set out to reconstruct the sacred landscape of the lake and its environs.
The bronze figurines from Albagino have been displayed in an exhibit in the Palazzo Pegaso in Florence, and that exhibit will soon move to the Museo Comprensoriale of Dicomano along with bronze votive figures from the famous “Lake of the Idols” at Monte Falterona, a site similar in many ways to Albagino. Monte Falterona was unfortunately “excavated” in the 19th century and much knowledge of that sacred landscape has been lost, even if the spectacular finds now grace institutions like the Louvre, Hermitage, and British Museum. Albagino offers an unparalleled opportunity to investigate a similar sacred setting in its larger context(s).
The program will begin (Saturday, July 7) in Firenzuola. Introductory lectures/discussions will introduce participants to Etruscan archaeology and archaeological field methods. Excavation will begin on Monday, July 9 and end of Friday, July 27. Excavation takes place on a forested grove in the high Apennine Mountains.
Period(s) of Occupation: Etruscan (6th-3rd centuries BCE).
Project Size: 1-24 participants
Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: One week
Minimum Age: 17
Experience Required: None, although preference will be given to persons who have completed course work in Archaeology, Art History, Classics, or Anthropology.
Room and Board Arrangements:
We will reside in the picturesque town of Firenzuola. Lodging is in double rooms in the Hotel Piccola Firenze. Meals are provided for the full length of the excavation project: breakfast at the hotel, a sack lunch on site, and dinner at the hotel. Thus all meals are provided Monday through Sunday, from the evening of July 8 through July 27. There will be ample opportunity to get to know Firenzuola and its inhabitants. Wi-Fi is available. You are free to travel on Sundays and public transportation is available to either Florence or Bologna. Cost: $1900 for volunteers. $550 for anyone enrolled in the 3 hour course.
Academic Credit:
3 credit hours. credits offered by Franklin University Switzerland. Tuition is $3375.
