Come to Rome and engage history: exploration, archaeology, and conservation!

AIRC SUMMER ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL 2013 (June 10-July 21)

OSTIA ANTICA: EXCAVATIONS IN PARCO DEI RAVENNATI

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

GENERAL INFORMATION AND APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERNSHIPS 2013

LAST FEW SPACES AVAILABLE - DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APRIL 15, 2013

Introduction

The American Institute for Roman Culture’s Summer Archaeological Field School is an intensive, accredited six-week educational program in Roman archaeology led by AIRC faculty and affiliated expert archaeologists. The program offers students a unique combination of (1) one week of specialized academic instruction on the topography and development of Rome, including visits to major museums and open-air sites to augment field studies and provide participants with a broader context of what life was like in the ancient city, and (2) five weeks of hands-on fieldwork at an important archaeological site in the city and environs. In 2013 the program will be held from June 10 through July 21 and will take place at Ostia Antica, the harbor city of ancient Rome.

Click here to learn how to apply.

Click here to read a recent article on AIRC's Ostia project in Popular Archaeology online.

Why Choose This Program?

Get a broad perspective 
The AIRC Summer Archaeological Field School offers its participants both a synchronic (single-period) and a diachronic (multi-period) approach to the study of Roman culture. Through this dual approach, which provides depth and breadth simultaneously, participants will gain a comprehensive historical and cultural appreciation of Rome and Roman civilization, from its rise to power to its decline, understanding how it set a standard of cultural values that continues to exert influence over the entire Western world to this day.

Gain valuable experience 
During the fieldwork component, participants will:

• be offered a focused look at the techniques and methodologies of modern archaeological research, through which we are able to explore past cultures and understand more about their histories and origins;
• learn the importance of archaeological record-keeping, including the proper methodology for conducting excavations, archaeological drawing, note-taking, and identifying/organizing/cataloguing finds;
• become familiar with a variety of Roman artifacts and building techniques/materials and practice "reading" art, architecture, and other traces of this civilization’s material culture to reconstruct the wider cultural framework;
• become acquainted with the city of Rome and its port at Ostia and their rich archaeological record;
• be introduced to the principles of conservation of the material remains of the past.

Live in Rome 
Participants are lodged in small groups (generally 4-6 people) in typical Italian houses in the historic center, where they eat/drink, shop, and interact with contemporary Romans. Modern Rome is an ideal place to live and study, offering all of the amenities and attractions of a major European capital with an international character, while retaining the charm and feel of a small city with a strong local color. It is well-connected to most major European (and some Italian) destinations via low-cost airlines operating out of its two international airports, as well as to the rest of Italy via the extensive network of the Italian National Railways—Florence and Naples are just 90 minutes away by rail, and the nearest beach is just 30 minutes away at Ostia Lido.

Make friends 
The Summer Archaeological Field School also offers the chance to meet, and make lasting friendships with, like-minded people representing a wide range of majors at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels from all parts of the United States, and even the world. The 2012 program included participants from USC, Cornell University, UCLA, University of Vermont, CUNY Queens College, Catholic University of America, Ohio State University, University of Mary Washington, Indiana University, Marquette University, Bates College, University of Georgia at Athens, Gustavus Adolphus College, University of Texas at Austin, Case Western Reserve University, College of the Holy Cross, University of California at Davis, and San Diego State University. They were joined by students from the University of Ottawa in Canada and the Universities of Warwick and Glasgow in the United Kingdom.
California State University, Fresno’s Division of Continuing and Global Education is the official school of record and transcripting body for AIRC programs.

For information on other AIRC summer programs, click here.