June 11 – July 22, 2017

 

May 29 – June 23, 2017

 

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June 11 – July 22, 2017

 

We are now accepting applications from students and volunteers to participate in our eleventh season of excavations of the baths at Roman Carsulae.

 

The Roman city of Carsulae, founded in the third century BCE along the Via Flaminia in modern Umbria, was extensively excavated by the Soprintendente for Umbria, Umberto Ciotti, from the 1950s to the 1970s.  He uncovered a number of its public buildings including the forum, amphitheatre and theatre and transformed the entire area into an archaeological park.  In 2004, our team, under the direction of Professor Jane K. Whitehead of Valdosta State University and the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell’Umbria commenced a long term project to re-excavate the baths, which are located just south of the city limits and were left exposed after Ciotti’s excavation 40 years earlier.

 

In 2011, we received grants from Italian sources, in particular the Associazione Valorizzazione del Patrimonio Storico, which enabled us to construct a roof over the remains of the baths.  Because it affords greater protection from the elements, during the 2012 and 2013 seasons we were able to open up areas that were more fragile, thus further exposing the structure. 

 

Our goal for the 2017 season is to complete the excavation of the portion of the baths that lies beneath the protective roof in preparation for an intensive conservation plan that will ultimately encompass the entire bath complex.  We will also explore the area immediately to the east in order to determine the dimensions and function of two partially exposed rooms.

 

Our field program welcomes both students and volunteers. No experience is necessary, only an enthusiasm for archaeology and the ability to work hard in rigorous conditions.  Participants are instructed in excavation strategies, techniques and recording, the formulation of research questions and priorities, identification and handling of artifacts, drafting of site plans, and analytical rendering. Throughout the season, participants are given the opportunity to work with our conservators in the lab cleaning and consolidating small finds, or in the field helping to conserve the mosaics we have discovered over the course of the excavations.

 

The program fee is $975.00 per week which includes a shared room as well as breakfast every day and lunch and dinner five days a week. All equipment and local transportation is also provided.

 

The excavation season runs for six weeks, and we strongly encourage participation in the entire program so one can experience all stages of an excavation.  Alternatively, you may participate in a three-week session: the first beginning on Sunday, June 11 and the second on Sunday, July 2.  We offer a discounted rate to those who opt to enroll for the full six week season; see our website for further details.

There is a minimum length of stay of three weeks.

 

We are not offering credit this season, however we are happy to work with your university.

 

We stay at the Albergo Duomo, three or four people to a room, in the charming hill town of San Gemini, just three kilometers from Carsulae.  All rooms have private baths and air conditioning, and the hotel is equipped with free wireless.  Our meals are eaten in the elegant dining room of the hotel.

 

Participants work in the field Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 1 PM (or an hour earlier, depending on the weather).After lunch and a well-earned siesta, afternoons are spent in the lab processing each day's finds and attending classes, lectures, or working with our conservators. Weekends are open for travel or relaxation. Group trips to nearby sites of interest are often available.

 

 

The application deadline is Friday, March 31, 2017.

 

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May 29 – June 23, 2017

 

Our colleagues at San Gemini Preservation Studies offer a number of programs that also take place during the summer in San Gemini.  We encourage you to look at their website and consider participating in one of their courses before or after your time spent working with us.  Of particular relevance to our project are the Analysis of Archaeological Ceramics and the Restoration of Archaeological Ceramics workshops, which provide an excellent background in conservation and restoration that is very useful when working in the field and lab.

 

Thank you.

 

Jane K. Whitehead, Director of the Excavations of the Baths at Roman Carsulae

Professor Emerita, Department of Modern and Classical Languages

Valdosta State University