2004 STUDENT DIARIES Week 1 - Jeff Edwards: Jeff Edwards excavating in Poggio Colla Trench PC 20. My name is Jeff Edwards and I am an anthropology major at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, USA. I plan to focus my studies in ancient history and Classical archaeology. I have always been fascinated with ancient civilization; in particular, those of the Classical world of the Mediterranean. When I considered attending an archaeological field school I applied to six different ones. Two were located in Jordan, one in Israel, one in Cyprus, one in Greece, and Poggio Colla in Italy. It was important to judge the credentials of each particular school as I had already studied archaeological methods and theory. Some schools were better than others. The two projects at the top of the list were the Mitoru Archaeological Project, sponsored by Cornell University, which is located in East Lokris, Greece (a bronze age site which may be associated with Homer's Illiad), and The Mugello Valley Archaeological Project. Poggio Colla is an Etruscan site with three occupational phases, the best of which was destroyed in 137 B.C. I am participating in their project as an undergraduate and earning credit in place of the field school offered by my university. One reason that I chose this school was the opportunity to travel. This is an added benefit to Poggio Colla as opposed to another school which may be located in the USA. I had never been to Italy, which was a life long dream of mine. Imagine what it is like for a student who has studied ancient history and archaeology to have the opportunity to combine two of their favorite passions: travel and study. At Poggio Colla we have some weekends that are open to travel. The last two weekends I spent in Florence. This is an amazing city which has a rich history and incredible museums. For the student who is interested in art history (and in particular, Renaissance art), Florence is an ideal place to see many famous works of art. The architecture is magnificent and the people are friendly. Not speaking Italian does not pose much of a problem as many Italians also speak English. This coming weekend we have four days off from work, and many students are traveling to various destinations such as Rome, Pompeii, and Cerveteri. It is a lot of fun to travel with people who have common interests, moreover we get to formulate relationships and memories that are long lasting. This weekend a group of us are going to Sorrento, a city close to Pompeii and Herculaneum which were destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. In short, if you are a prospective student or someone reading this to learn more about the daily life of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, there will be more to come including what it is like to excavate a 2,500 year old Etruscan site. Jeff Edwards learns to use survey instruments. Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7   Director, Gregory Warden gwarden@mail.smu.edu Director, Michael Thomas michael.thomas@tufts.edu While the team is in Italy during the summer field season, send e-mail to: mvap3@dada.it To email an individual on the team, enter the person's last name in the subject heading. Excavation house phone: 055-844-9834, or, when calling from the US: 011-39-55-844-9834. Introduction | 2004 Field Season | Poggio Colla Field School | What’s New | Staff | Students Site History | Directors' Diaries | Student Diaries | Excavation Friends | Facilities | Conservation | Surveys Robert Belanger | Katherine Blanchard | Josh Moran | Caitlin Vacanti | Ivo van der Graaff | Robert Vander Poppen QuickTime VR | Site Set-Up | Dig Daily Life | Excavation Process | Field Manual | Lectures | Season's End Archives | Finds | Research Projects | Publications | Bibliography | Mugello Area | Home