Student Notebooks

Blackfriary, Ireland: Tatiana

August 5, 2015


Hi, I’m Tasha and I’m from Montreal, Canada. I attend McGill University for anthropology and I am interested in Bio-archaeology. I wanted to do a field school and visit Ireland so I googled “Ireland field schools” and IAFS popped up. It had everything I was looking for especially experience with bio-archaeology. I chose the Blackfriary site had everything I was looking for. I really wanted to gain bio-archaeology experience as well as basic archaeological techniques

I was on site for a total of four weeks and I really liked it. I actually enjoyed the experience more than I originally thought I would. With students constantly coming and going it’s hard to keep a steady atmosphere but here at Blackfriary it was really good. The staff are great and very helpful. I definitely completed my initial incoming goals coming here.

I spent two weeks in Cutting 10 helping take down various areas level by level and was able to help excavate the wall/stairs (we aren’t quite sure what they are yet). I then spent two weeks in bio-archaeology rotation and was able to work on excavating, lifting, washing burials. I loved my time here and would recommend this experience to other especially if you are interested in archaeology.


Interactive Digs:



support Us

The AIA is North America's largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to archaeology. The Institute advances awareness, education, fieldwork, preservation, publication, and research of archaeological sites and cultural heritage throughout the world. Your contribution makes a difference.