Daily Program & Grades
The course will consist of three modules. You will be divided into four groups and each group will work one week on each module:
Excavation:
You will help excavating a Hellenistic house and will be trained in excavation techniques and recognising and interpreting stratigraphic sequences, using the Total Station etc.
Find Processing:
You will learn to date, describe, draw and photograph artefacts, such as pot sherds, metal finds etc.
Contextualization:
The fieldtrips will help you to understand the history and environment of the city.
Supervision in these three modules will be provided by the project staff consisting of Margriet Haagsma and four research assistants. Laura Surtees will be our field director.
The fieldwork will take place six days per week (Monday-Saturday). On Saturday we will stop an hour early.Besides participating in the fieldwork, you must keep a diary. Furthermore, you will type day reports, make reconstruction of the building you research and we will have regular discussion sessions on the methodology used, on the interpretation of the data that we gather during this season and on the historical setting of the site.
Fieldtrips
A number of fieldtrips will be part of the course. The excursions will be organised in the weekends, especially on Sundays. Transport will be by car and van, both of which are rented. There are many interesting sites and museums in the neighbourhood and we might visit one or more of the following: the archaeological museum of Almiros, the museum at Volos, the Museum at Larissa; the sites of Halos and Demetrias (Hellenistic); Nea Anchialos (Early Byzantine); Phylake, Pefkakia Magoula, Sesklo and Dimini (prehistoric settlements); Pharsala (archaic tholos tomb and the area of the Battle between Caesar and Pompey (48 BCE), and the hills of the battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BCE).
With this application, you will have to hand in two recent passport photographs and a cheque of $15 to pay for the membership of The Canadian Institute in Athens. In return you will receive free entrance passes for all sites in Greece and national museums (valid for one year)!
If you wish to buy a guide: the lonely planet guides are good, but the Blue Guide remains the bible for all travellers in Greece.
40% Work on site
40% Administrative work (day reports, drawings, assignments etc.)
20% A short exam
A positive work attitude is essential for a good grade!