THE 2005 FIELD SCHOOL AT POGGIO COLLA   Students resting after lunch up on Poggio Colla. June 18, 2005 - August 05, 2005 Follow the link below to the cover and index for the 2005 Field School Manual in pdf format. The main headings in the index (defined by boxes) are linked to separate pdf files. Some of these are extremely large and will take time to download, so be patient. 2005 FIELD MANUAL (links within pdf do not work on Mac platform) Links to pages about Field School life, Student Research Projects, and Lectures Last summer about fifty staff members and students worked at Poggio Colla for a six-week season that ran from the middle of June to the beginning of August. Students from twelve American universities and the University of Amsterdam (NL) participated along with the Gruppo Archeologico di Vicchio, Italian students, and volunteers. A normal day on the excavation involves working on the site in the morning and early afternoon. There are four or five trenches and after the first week students are assigned to an individual trench where they work as a team with their trench supervisor. The trench supervisor is normally a graduate student with several years of excavation experience. Depending on what is going on in each individual trench, students excavate until around three PM and then return to the main excavation house or to the storerooms/lab areas to process finds. This processing includes everything from sorting, cleaning, and joining, to labeling finds and helping the trench supervisor with forms and reports. In the evening there is often a lecture before dinner (dinner is late, at 8 PM, Italian style). The lectures range from topics of Etruscan archaeology to the nitty-gritty of archaeological methodology. Students and staff are housed in excavation houses (as many as five or six) near Vicchio in the little hamlet of Vespignano, overlooking the Mugello, one of the most beautiful areas of Tuscany. Despite its proximity to Florence, the countryside of the Mugello and Val di Sieve has remained relatively unspoiled. The main excavation house is a beautifully restored farmhouse, "La Vigna," that sleeps eighteen persons. This farmhouse has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a huge kitchen, dining and sitting room, and a large room that serves as the lecture hall. Another farmhouse about a ten-minute walk from Vigna, sleeps nine persons, and houses the excavation library and computer center. This house, the "Casa del Guardia," is rented by us year-round, and houses both students and staff. Two more nearby houses ("Selve" I and II), and another house in the area are used for staff and guests. Our work areas are in the three places. Rough sorting and washing of pottery is done in an outdoor shed at the main excavation house, Vigna. Cataloguing, conservation, and photography take place in our lab in Vicchio. Although the Poggio Colla project is sponsored by three American institutions, our aim is to create an international project. We work closely with scholars from the University of Florence's geology department and with Dr. Dario Monna, of the National Research Council of Italy, who supervises the geophysical prospection (radar, resistivity, and magnetometer prospection). We also work closely with the Gruppo Archeologico di Vicchio and its director, Andrea Santoni. We encourage Italian students who are interested in Etruscan archaeology to volunteer to work with us. One of the project directors, Dr. Warden, is a native Italian who grew up in the Mugello Valley. The excavation project does not work in isolation, and we are grateful to our Italian friends and colleagues for their support. Academics Field School participants receive training in Etruscan archaeology as well as in the theoretical and practical aspects of fieldwork from a professional staff that includes archaeologists, an architect, an illustrator, a surveyor, and a conservator. Lectures by the staff as well as by visiting scholars supplement the on-site learning. The site's proximity to Florence allows for weekend visits to major museums and archaeological sites. Participants in the Field School enroll in 3 or 6 credit hours from Southern Methodist University. Students are expected to complete a research project on their return to the United States and to submit that paper no later than September 1, 2005. The project topic will be arranged in consultation with the program directors (Dr. Warden and Dr. Thomas) and the Field School's professional staff. Normally, the project consists of writing a catalogue of finds from one of the trenches (the one in which the student worked), illustrating those finds (there are workshops on archaeological illustration), and explicating the finds in the more general context of the site. The aim is to produce a paper that replicates the methodologies of archaeological documentation and explication found in the publication of archaeological finds, a kind of small "mock" publication. The excavation staff includes professional archaeologists, geologists, survey experts, an architect, a conservator, ceramics and materials specialists, illustrator, and a web master/information technologist. All participate in student training. Professor Ann Steiner lectures on ceramics to field students in the study room. Since 1995, the Poggio Colla Field School has included students from the University of Amsterdam, Bates College, Beloit College, Boston University, Bryn Mawr College, the University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, the University of Dallas, East Carolina University, Duke University, University of South Florida, Franklin College, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Hunter College, the University of Illinois, Johns Hopkins University, Kalamazoo College, the University of Leiden, the University of Maryland at Baltimore, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Michigan, the University of New Mexico, Oberlin College, Ohio State University, the University of Oregon, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Puget Sound, the University of Richmond, Rutgers University, Savannah College of Art, Skidmore College, Southern Methodist University, Smith College, the University of St. Thomas, the University of Texas at Austin, Truman State University, Vanderbilt University, University of Virginia, Vassar College, Washington University, Whittier College, and Yale University. Application and Fees Space is limited and only 16 students are accepted. We encourage you to submit your application by March 1, 2005 but applications will be considered as long as there is room. Applications should be submitted to The International Office, 3108 Fondren Dr., Dallas TX 75275-0391. For application forms and more information write to the above address, or to mblewis@mail.smu.edu, or call (214) 768-2338, or write the program Director, Dr. Gregory Warden gwarden@mail.smu.edu. To download application forms via the internet, click here: http://www.smu.edu/studyabroad/study.asp?sec=apply The program will run for approximately seven weeks, from June 18 to August 5, 2005. The program cost includes 3 or 6 hours of credit, lodging, meals (Monday-Friday), and local commute. Cost: 3 hours $3,900; 6 hours $5,130 Academic credits: 3 or 6 hours Offered by: Southern Methodist University Tuition: Included in total cost Participants who do not wish to enroll for credit will still be expected to participate in all program activities and pay the full program cost. The program fee includes room and most meals (three meals Monday-Friday, and breakfast on Saturday). Students are responsible for transportation, health insurance, health care, and weekend meals. Student Research Projects MVAP House Rules for Field School Participants 2005 Lectures and Workshops Facilities 2004 Field Season Dig Daily Life Site Set-Up Excavation Process Season's End SMU Master of Liberal Arts Program page with photos and student diary. QuickTime VR page includes "movies" of students digging on the site.