Field School Board
Summer Field School with The Montpelier Archaeology Department
The 2024 Field School will be held from May 27th through June 28th, with two virtual sessions on May 22nd and 23rd.
The Montpelier Archaeology Department has hosted field school since 1987. Over the past thirty-seven years, the program has grown to include students from a variety of universities, spanning the US and abroad.
The field school is a five-week intensive course designed to give students training in field and laboratory techniques. Students will be introduced to excavation and survey methods, cutting edge archaeological recordation and digital data collection techniques (using ESRI's Field Maps, digital mapping, and mobile photogrammetry), artifact processing and basic curation practices. Students will also be introduced to the principals of Public Archaeology, and will be expected to engage with visitors to the site, members of the descendant community, and online. Students will also be expected to engage in discussions around contemporary museum practice with a focus on community based work and restorative justice.
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF MEMORIALIZATION
The 2024 excavation season will focus on the Archaeology of Memorialization, where we will work to define the boundaries of the Montpelier Burial Ground of the Enslaved and build our understanding of how the ancestors of Montpelier’s descendant community memorialized their loved ones in this space. We are working under the direction of the Montpelier Descendants Committee (MDC) in all aspects of these surveys and excavations. The continued archaeological surveys and excavations at the Montpelier Burial Ground of the Enslaved will help The Montpelier Descendants Committee build a memorial to honor the legacy of their ancestors.
The archaeological work that students will be involved in is aimed at serving the larger goals of memorialization. The archaeology of memorialization aims to due the following:
1. Understand the extent of the burial ground and location of burials in order to protect those burials and prevent any disturbance of human remains during the landscape restoration process.
2. Explore evidence for how the enslaved and their descendants commemorated and honored that space.
3. Restore the landscape of the burial ground, and honor those buried there.
This field school and the excavations associated with memorialization is about understanding the landscape, and will NOT include the excavation of burials or human remains. Protection of human remains is central to this project and the interests of the MDC.
Learn More About the Project Here: (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/13b581f5ed8d42c99d983b98c7ee47ed)
COST & ACCREDITATION
The Montpelier Archaeology Field School is accredited through James Madison University and SUNY Plattsburgh. However, we also offer a non-credit option. Undergraduate, graduate, and new professionals are welcome to apply to the field school!
The base cost for the field school is $800. Students not taking it for credit, will owe an additional $200 fee.
Accepted students will need to pay an additional $100 deposit (or the full fee) in order to secure their spot. This fee will be refunded to scholarship recipients.
The total cost for non-credit students is $1,100.00 USD.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The Montpelier Foundation offers scholarships for African American students attending the Field School. For more details, please e-mail dig@montpelier.org and ask about scholarship opportunities for African American students. Scholarship application materials are provided when applying for the Field School!
APPLY FOR THE FIELD SCHOOL
Learn More about the field school here: https://www.montpelier.org/archaeology/field-schools
Apply Here: https://forms.gle/TkCG1YL752bkDBkz7
Applications are due by March 1st!
PAID INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Students who have participated in and completed the Archaeology Field School will also be provided an opportunity to apply for a ten month long paid internship program.
Jamestown Rediscovery / University of Virginia Summer Field School 2024
Dates: May 28, 2024 – July 5, 2024
Organization: Jamestown Rediscovery
University Affiliation: University of Virginia
Application Closing Date: April 5, 2024
PDF External Web Site: https://historicjamestowne.org/archaeology/archaeological-field-school-2024/
Terrestrial: Yes
Underwater: No
State: Virginia
Description:
Jamestown Rediscovery and the University of Virginia are pleased to offer a field school at Historic Jamestowne—the first permanent English colony in North America—from May 28 to July 5, 2024. This field school provides a unique opportunity for students of all backgrounds to contribute to the research and interpretation of early 17th-century America. Through hands-on fieldwork, students will learn archaeological excavation methods from the Jamestown Rediscovery team, who have excavated at the site for 30 years.
Course topics include:
- Archaeological Excavation Methods
- Artifact Recovery, Identification, and Processing
- Feature Excavation and Analysis
- Archaeological Mapping
- Ground-Penetrating Radar
The course also includes field trips and weekly seminars exploring the contributions of historical archaeology to colonial history, as well as recent literature in the discipline.
Historic Jamestowne is located on Jamestown Island, near Williamsburg, Virginia. Students who successfully complete the field school will receive 6 graduate credits (Anthropology 5589) through the University of Virginia. Housing is available for students at the College of William & Mary for the duration of the field school for an additional cost.
For more information, including costs for tuition and housing, and application forms please visit https://historicjamestowne.org/archaeology/archaeological-field-school-2024/. Completed applications must be received by April 5, 2024.
Watch the 2017 field school video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B60JDvUMgtI
The six-credit archaeology summer field school is designed to provide students with instruction in archaeological excavation methods. This year we will hold involve day-long investigations at four important historic period archaeological sites—Ft. Kaskaskia I and II, Jacques Mette, and James West--in southern Illinois. Ft. Kaskaskia I is a French colonial fort (1759-1763) that was later occupied by a US Infantry Company in 1802. Ft. Kaskaskia II was built by that same Infantry Company in 1802-1803 and visited by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the fall of 1803. We also may assist the USDA Forest Service in conducting remote sensing investigations at the home of James West, an 1860 Abolitionist missionary; and possibly assist in the investigation of the 1830s home of an early 19th century metis fur trader—Jacques Mette—in the town of Kaskaskia.
For information, contact Dr. Mark Wagner at mjwagner@siu.edu.
field research on significant cultural resources in an isolated area of coastal South Carolina. While fieldwork is
the primary component—including excavation, survey, and various forms of documentation—guest lectures,
field trips, and other related activities will also be provided for a holistic experience in archaeological practice.
- Hands on experience in archaeological and ethnographic field methods
- Shovel testing between the rivers
- Excavation on a rice plantation
- Oral history documentation
- Film production
- Room and board included
- Travel to and from the work sites provided
- Plantation and museum tours
- Weekends off
The total cost for non-credit students is $1,100.00 USD.
The Montpelier Foundation offers scholarships for African American students attending the Field School. For more details, please e-mail dig@montpelier.org and ask about scholarship opportunities for African American students. Scholarship application materials are provided when applying for the Field School!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email dig@montpelier.org.
Goldrush Archaeology in the Alaska Interior
Description:
Founded in 1902 on the north bank of the Tanana River, The Chena Townsite was a bustling goldrush town home to thousands of miners and settlers that flocked to the region in search of prosperity. Chena rivaled its close neighbor Fairbanks as the commercial center of mining operations in the Alaska Interior. The rivalry lasted only a few short decades, however, before Fairbanks emerged victorious. Chena became a ghost town by 1920 and was all but forgotten. Little remains of the once thriving town. In the past two decades however, archaeologists have mapped, surveyed, and begun to excavate parts of Chena in hopes of better understanding its birth and abandonment. This year we will continue this research by conducting archaeological survey and excavations at the site where Chena once stood.
The Chena Townsite is located just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. Students will live in their own accommodations or on campus and report to the site daily. Students will provide their own lunches, but all tools and equipment will be provided. Participants will learn the fundamental skills of archaeological fieldwork while excavating and documenting historic structures and artifacts. They will examine artifacts, botanicals, sediments, and faunal materials to learn analytical techniques while providing insight into the lives of the traders, miners, and other members of this short-lived historic community.
Please contact Dr. Justin Cramb (jecramb@alaska.edu) for more information or to register.
Field Schools in Australia/New Zealand
Field Schools in Europe
This two week archaeological excavation at the Temple of Apollo, Despotiko and cultural excursion is run in partnership with JICAS, University of Exeter's International Summer School programme and the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, Greece.
This three week field school combines classroom and Jersey-based field trips exploring the region's prehistory with excavation work at the Neolithic dolmen La Hougue de Vinde, all in partnership with the University of Exeter's International Summer School, Jersey Heritage and the Societe Jersiaise. I have attached the full prospectuses for both courses for your reference.
About the Program
This summer Applied Field Program will explore the material history of the Irish Diaspora in County Cork. The location of the study is the area around Skibbereen, County Cork. Skibbereen is located 51 miles (82 km) southeast of Cork City. It became infamous as a metaphor for the impacts and horrific sufferings of the Great Starvation. Skibbereen is ideal due to its commitment to collecting Ireland's rich heritage. The Skibbereen Museum and Heritage Center is a natural conduit between the archaeologist and the local community.
Through archaeological investigations, archival research, and interviews with local historians of the Skibbereen Heritage Center and members of the community, you will receive extensive and intensive experience learning the importance and meaning of material culture as it relates to the larger study of the Irish Diaspora, socio-cultural change in Ireland over time, as well as form the foundation for a comparable database to model and interpret the diverse worlds and experiences of Irish immigrants internationally.
This research is an important move forward in modeling the diversity of material identities in Ireland and creating a database that will be significant not only to Ireland, but also to understanding material and social continuity and change in Irish diasporic communities worldwide.
All are welcome to apply. This includes off-campus/non-UMD students. Credits will transfer. If you have any questions about accreditation or transfering credits please contact Dr. Brighton. There are no requirements and all students are welcome to apply. Students will earn 6 credits for participating. Students will be in the field daily and no experience is necessary. It is an excellent way to learn about Irish history, culture, and heritage.
For more information, visit the program blog and Facebook page.
Eligibility
You must be in good academic and judicial standing and you must not have any registration blocks to participate in this program. The minimum GPA for this program is listed above.
All UMD and non-UMD graduate and undergraduate students are eligible to apply.
If you are interested in this program but do not meet the eligibility requirements, reach out to the Program Leader (listed in the Contacts tab) to discuss your interest in the program.
Contacts
Dr. Stephen A. Brighton, Faculty Program Leader, is an Assistant Professor with 18 years of experience leading international field schools. Dr. Brighton is a licensed archaeologist in Ireland and known for his excavations focusing on cultural resilience and transformation as it relates to the Irish Diaspora. Dr. Brighton has written a book "Historical Archaeology of the Irish Diaspora: A Transnational Approach" that details much of his research in North America. The research program in Ireland represents one of the first of its kind to critically bring together historical and archaeological data to understand and give a voice to an underrepresented population in early modern Ireland that formed much of the 19th century Irish Diaspora.
For course, itinerary or in-country information, please contact the Program Leader.
For general questions or assistance with applying, contact EA Short-term Programs.