Field School at Makounta-Voules, Cyprus

Location: Polis Chrysochous, P, CY

Season: June 12, 2025 to July 19, 2025

Session Dates: June 12, 2025-July 19, 2025

Application Deadline: February 5, 2025

Deadline Type: Exact Date

Website: http://www.makountavoules.com

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
North Carolina State University

Project Director:
Dr. Kathryn Grossman, North Carolina State University

Project Description:

The Makounta-Voules Archaeological Project is a collaborative, international research project investigating the backstory to urbanization in prehistoric Cyprus. Our team is exploring the evolving relationship between copper exploitation, long-distance trade, agricultural intensification, and increasing social inequality during the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, and Middle Bronze Age, immediately before the first urban centers emerged on the island. The site of Makounta-Voules is a large, multi-period prehistoric settlement in a part of the island where few prehistoric sites have been excavated. As such, it promises to yield a great deal of information about these crucial periods in Cypriot prehistory.

The Makounta-Voules project is also an effort to protect the island’s cultural heritage. A highway linking the cities of Paphos and Polis in western Cyprus is about to undergo a massive expansion, intended to encourage development of the Chrysochou Bay area. The road construction project – and the ensuing commercial/residential development – will almost certainly have a negative impact on archaeological remains across the region. Our work will serve as an important step toward documenting the Bronze Age occupation of a region that is on the brink of rapid transformation.

One key priority for our project is the training of future generations of archaeologists. We are, therefore, offering a field school in archaeological methods (excavation, survey, mapping, and laboratory skills) and the archaeology of Cyprus. Credits will be issued in Anthropology (3 credits) and History (3 credits) from North Carolina State University. Interested participants are encouraged to contact Kathryn Grossman for more details. Applications must be made through the Study Abroad office at NC State. There is an early action application deadline of Dec. 1, 2024, or you can wait to apply at the final deadline of Feb. 5, 2025.

Period(s) of Occupation: Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Full Session

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: No previous experience necessary

Room and Board Arrangements:
Meals will be provided six days a week. Housing will be provided continuously between June 12 and July 19, 2025. If you need to arrive a day early or leave a day late, contact Kathryn Grossman for information about accommodations beyond those dates. Cost: NC State Program Fee: $5,400. Includes 6 credits from NC State, instruction, field trips and site visits, food (6 days per week), housing, transportation (except during free time), international health insurance. Does not include: Application fee, international airfare, transfer to/from airport, passport or visa costs, meals and transportation on the weekly day off, personal expenses, textbook, immunizations. Also note that all participants are asked to bring their own trowel. Contact project staff for ordering advice.

Academic Credit:
6 credits: 3 credits in Anthropology (ANT 389: Fundamentals of Archaeological Research) and 3 credits in History (HI 395: History Study Abroad) credits offered by North Carolina State University. Tuition is Included in program fee.