MY.SPE.AR. Field School

Location: Lamia, Greece

Season: June 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022

Session Dates: Orientation sessions are scheduled in the spring semester of 2022 (including assigned readings). During excavation, digging is conducted Monday through Friday, from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, with a lunch break at noon; in the afternoon (5:15-6:00 pm) the excavation staff is briefed by the sector supervisors and trench masters on the results and finds of the day, and the program field director assigns tasks and gives detailed directions for the following day (weekends may be used for dig preparation, if necessary). Excavation is hard, physical work, requiring also high-level concentration, and involving multiple tasks (including supervising the workmen, keeping a detailed daily journal, describing, measuring, recording, labeling, drawing, photographing the archaeological finds and contexts, sifting, transporting, storing and cataloguing the finds) and students should be well prepared and trained for it. Organized excursions and field trips will be scheduled on weekends (or on days of inclement weather preventing digging/surveying) to museums and archaeological sites; field trips locations may include Athens, Thessaloniki, Pella, Vergina, Nafplio, Argos, Mycenae, Tiryns, Corinth, Epidaurus, Pylos, Olympia, Delphi, Thebes, Glas, Meteora, Mystras, Monemvasia, and select Greek islands.

Application Deadline: April 20, 2022

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: http://mycenaeanfoundation.com/field-school

Discount for AIA members: Yes (10% off)

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Mycenaean Foundation University of the Peloponnese

Project Director:
Field Director: Prof. Christofilis Maggidis

Project Description:

The Mycenaean Foundation in collaboration with the Department of History, Archeology and Cultural Resources Management of the University of Peloponneseoffer to motivated students from around the world the unique opportunity to participate in the archaeological excavation, survey, and field research of the region of the Spercheios River valley in Greece, associated in Greek mythology with the legendary kingdom of Achilles, and receive top practical training through the MY.SPE.AR. field school.

During field campaigns the students will be trained as trench assistants by experienced field archaeologists in excavation, sifting and flotation, data collection and recording, study/cataloguing of artifacts/ecofacts, museum research, archaeological field survey and geophysical survey (aided by remote sensing devices and techniques). The field school program also includes field trips to museums and archaeological sites in Athens, mainland Greece and select Greek islands, designed to offer the students hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of Prehistoric Aegean and Classical art and archaeology, and the opportunity to immerse in modern Greek culture and language.

In June 2022, the Mycenaean Spercheios Valley Archaeological (MY.SPE.AR) Project (5th campaign) will run for four and a half weeks and will involve extensive excavation on the acropolis of Lamia, regional archaeological survey of the Spercheios Valley, aerial reconnaissance (drone), geophysical survey (Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Ground Penetrating Radar, Magnetometry).

Participants may enroll either for academic credit or fieldwork certificate (University of Peloponnese). Successful completion of the field school will earn 6-7 ECTS (equivalent to 3 US credits), which may be transferred to other academic institutions.

For the MY.SPE.AR. 2022 campaign, positions are open to 30 undergraduate students and 5-6 graduate students. Positions are open on a rolling basis until filled.

Period(s) of Occupation: Aegean prehistory/protohistory, Mycenaean, Classical Greek

Notes:
Total cost: $4,950 (academic credit or fieldwork certificate) Included in comprehensive fee: tuition fee, academic accreditation and transcript or fieldwork certificate, room and board, all local transportation, group excursions, museum/site entrance fees Not included in comprehensive fee: international flight to/from Greece and incidental personal expenses For application and payment instructions, see http://mycenaeanfoundation.com/field-school

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: 4 weeks

Minimum Age: 18 (16 with written consent from parent/legal guardian)

Experience Required: None. During field campaigns the students will be trained as trench assistants by experienced field archaeologists in excavation, sifting and flotation, data collection and recording, study/cataloguing of artifacts/ecofacts, museum research, archaeological field survey and geophysical survey (aided by remote sensing devices and techniques). The field school program also includes field trips to museums and archaeological sites in Athens, mainland Greece and select Greek islands, designed to offer the students hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of Prehistoric Aegean and Classical art and archaeology, and the opportunity to immerse in modern Greek culture and language.

Room and Board Arrangements:
The city of Lamia and the Spercheios River Valley are located at a distance of 220 km (two-hour drive) to the north of Athens (the capital city of Greece) and the international airport "Eleftherios Venizelos." Students and staff are accommodated in air-conditioned cabins by the seashore, surrounded by landscaped grounds, private sports facilities (soccer field, basket ball court, tennis court), a study hall, kitchen and dinning hall, and fronted by a beautiful beach for swimming. Transportation to/from the airport, to/from archaeological site, and for group excursions/field trips is provided by the program (by mini-bus). Dinner is served in designated local restaurants or in the dinning hall of the main camp. The director and assistant archaeologists are on-site throughout the campaign season, and have made arrangements with local liaisons in case of emergencies. The director, senior staff, and the students can be reached by phone or e-mail. The city of Lamia is served by a state hospital and private clinics.

Academic Credit:
Accreditation: 6-7 ECTS (equivalent to 3 US credits) (Univ. of Peloponnese) Fieldwork Certificate (Mycenaean Foundation)