2025 Amzabegovo, North Macedonia: Neolithic Transition to Farming Practices

Location: RW8X+CV Dolno Crnilishte, North Macedonia

Season: July 5, 2025 to July 26, 2025

Application Deadline: July 25, 2025

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://www.fieldsciences.org/program/2025-n-macedonia-amzabegovo/

Discount for AIA members: None

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Center for Field Sciences, Balkan Heritage Foundation and Austrian Archaeological Institute

Project Director:
Dr. Darko Stojanovski, Researcher at the Austrian Archaeological Institute & Assistant Professor at the Goce Delchev University in Shtip

Project Description:

During the 7th millennium BCE, the Balkan Peninsula served as a gateway for the spread of farming, animal husbandry, and Neolithisation from Anatolia and the Near East to Europe. The central Balkan River valleys, including the Vardar and Bregalnica, were among the most significant migration routes during this period. Amzabegovo, situated between these two river basins, encapsulates nearly two millennia of Balkan Neolithic development. The site was occupied 6,300 to 4,800 BCE, encompassing the era from the arrival of the first farmer settlers to the advent of metallurgy. Amzabegovo features a sequence of over 20 construction phases, including residential structures, pits, public buildings and burials. The site was abandoned at the end of the Neolithic until the Roman era, when a Roman villa was built on its top, sealing and preserving the Neolithic layers.

Research at Amzabegovo begun in the late 1960’s. The site was then excavated by an international American-Yugoslav team (UCLA & University of Belgrade). The team concluded that the site is over 10 hectares in size and represents the full duration and development of the Neolithic in the Balkan Peninsula. The emblematic, white-painted Neolithic pottery was widely represented at Amzabegovo, and is a cultural marker of the Central Balkans Neolithic population. At the same time, the material culture includes some Near Eastern elements, including architecture patterns originating in the Near East and the use of marble for personal ornaments production. These finds positioned Amzabegovo as a reference point for Balkan Neolithic studies.

After a 50-year hiatus, field research was reinitiated in 2019 at Amzabegovo. The current project, which this field school is part of, focuses on understanding the Neolithic transition to sedentary living, associated with the first adaptation of farming practices. A key question is understanding the regional dynamics and the role of Amzabegovo as the largest settlement in the cluster of sites within the Bregalnica River Basin, as well as its relationship and relevance to long distance trade routes.

Period(s) of Occupation: Neolithic period

Notes:
Tuition cost is $4,300; Program awards 6 semester credit units (equivalent to 9 quarter credits units) through our school of record – Culver-Stockton College

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Full session

Minimum Age: 18 years old

Experience Required: No prior experience is required. This is hands-on, experiential learning and students will study on-site how to conduct archaeological research. Field work involves physical work and exposure to the elements and thus requires a measure of understanding that this will not be the typical university learning environment. You will have to work outdoors and will get sweaty and tired. Students are required to come equipped with sufficient excitement and an adequate understanding that fieldwork requires real, hard work, in the sun and wind. The work requires patience, discipline, and attention to detail.

Room and Board Arrangements:
Students will stay at Danilov Guest House, located in the center of Shtip. The guest house offers double rooms (twin beds) with shared toilets and showers for each floor. Wi-Fi, a washing machine, and basic leisure and exercising equipment are provided. Bed linens and towels are provided. Single room accommodation is available upon request for an additional fee. The guest house is conveniently situated within walking distance to local stores, restaurants and other amenities. This program provides three meals per day, featuring organic Macedonian homemade food. During workdays, all meals are typically served at a nearby restaurant. Meals on weekends are also held at the same restaurant, except for lunches provided during excursions. This field school can accommodate vegetarians, vegans, and individuals with lactose intolerance.

Academic Credit:
Program awards 6 semester credit units (equivalent to 9 quarter credits units) through our school of record – Culver-Stockton College.