Field School Dates and Calendar

The field school will take place between June 24 and August 2, 2013. Important dates:

• June 23 – Arrivals (Pick-up at Pisa/Florence airports and Altopascio train station at pre-arranged times).
• June 24 – Orientation; Introduction to the site and medieval archaeology; Introduction to archaeological field methods.
• June 24 – July 11 – First Field School Session.
• July 11 – Midterm Test.
• July 12-15 – Midterm Break – Field School not in Session.
• July 16 – August 2 – Second Field School Session
• August 2 – Last day of the field school and departures.

Field School Schedule

Excavation takes place daily, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, with an hour lunch break. At the beginning of the field school, the instructors will divide the students in four groups and each group will be randomly assigned to a specific excavation area (see Excavation Results for an overview of each excavation area). Group assignments are based on a variety of factors, including prior experience and academic status, and decisions are final. Given the didactic value of direct involvement in – and observation of the progression of – archaeological investigation, students are expected to actively contribute to the excavation of their area for the entire duration of the field school. The four excavation areas at Badia Pozzeveri differ somewhat in their investigation focus and there is no guarantee that all participants will be equally involved in the excavation of human remains.

Laboratories will be held regularly in parallel with excavation. Laboratory activities will include cleaning, labeling, restoring, and analyzing skeletal remains and artifacts, as well as survey and elaboration of photographs and GIS records. Such activities will be held at the instructors’ discretion and will involve only small groups of students (2-3 per lab) at a time.

Lectures may be given in the morning once or twice a week. In case of inclement weather, excavation will be replaced with laboratory activities and lectures. Lectures will be held for a total of up to 2 hours a week and will cover recent advances in archaeology and bioarchaeology, with a particular emphasis on the directors’ and instructors’ research.

At the end of the working day students will have time to relax and shower. Students and staff will leave the school at 8:00 pm-8:30 pm to have dinner at the restaurant.

The field school is not in session during weekends and during the Midterm Break, giving students the opportunity to enjoy their stay in Italy. Students are welcome to take sightseeing trips to other cities, provided that they inform the Student Coordinator of their whereabouts and return on time for regular excavation and lecture activities.

Assignments and Grade Information

The students accepted in the program will receive a reading list and will be required to complete all readings prior to their arrival to Italy. The readings will include topics such as bioarchaeology, stratigraphy, geographic information systems. An understanding of such topics is essential to maximize on-site learning. A Midterm Test will be administered at the end of the first session to assess the student’s knowledge of the readings and understanding of excavation principles and techniques. Midterm scores will be communicated to the students at the beginning of the second session. Final grades are assigned based on participation in excavation (50%) and laboratory (20%) activities, participation in group discussions and presentations (5%), performance in the midterm test (10%), and overall conduct for the entire duration of the field school (15%).