Location: 7W83+65 Silanus, Province of Nuoro, Italy
Season: July 2, 2023 to July 29, 2023
Application Deadline: April 7, 2023
Deadline Type: Rolling
Website: https://www.fieldsciences.org/program/2023-italy-prane-siddi/
Program Type:
Field School
RPA Certified:
No
Affiliation:
Center for Field Sciences (US), Civico Museo Archeologico “Su Mulinu” di Villanovafranca (Italy)
Project Director:
Dr. Emily Holt & Dr. Mauro Perra
Project Description:
Pran’e Siddi, or the Siddi Plateau, is a high basaltic plateau located in the south-central part of the island of Sardinia (Italy), near the modern town of Siddi. The area around Siddi was inhabited by prehistoric villagers beginning in the Neolithic period (ca. 4000-3200 BCE). During the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1700-1450 BCE), these previously egalitarian people began to develop a hierarchical social system with an elite who expressed their power and prestige through the building of monumental stone towers called nuraghi. The elites of the Nuragic community on the Siddi Plateau built sixteen nuraghi, which they lived in and added onto for three centuries. By 1450 BCE, however, the elite sites on the Siddi Plateau seem to have been abandoned, and the population moved away. Progetto Pran’e Siddi was formed to conduct a thorough investigation of Nuragic climate, environment, land use, and economic practices in the Siddi region. We are interested in finding out what kinds of pressures – social, environmental, and/or economic – made the Nuragic people abandon their towers on the plateau. We are answering these questions through a combination of archaeological excavation and survey.
Period(s) of Occupation: Neolithic period (ca. 4000-3200 BCE) through the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1700-1450 BCE),
Notes:
Tuition: $3,996. Tuition covers full cost of instruction, room & board, transportation while in the program and 8 semester credit units (equivalent to 12 quarter credit units). Credit units are awarded through our School of Record -- Iowa Wesleyan University.
Project Size: 1-24 participants
Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Full time of field school
Minimum Age: 18 years old
Experience Required: None. This is hands-on, experiential learning and students will study on-site how to conduct archaeological research. Field work involves physical work and exposure to the elements and thus requires a measure of understanding that this will not be the typical university learning environment. You will have to work outdoors and will get sweaty, tired, and bitten by bugs. Students are required to come equipped with sufficient excitement and adequate understanding that field work requires real, hard work in the sun and wind. The work requires patience, discipline, and attention to detail.
Room and Board Arrangements:
Students will live in a comfortable, but modest, field housing in the town of Siddi. Conditions at the field accommodations are basic: there is only one bathroom, hot water may run out, and students will share communal rooms. Mattresses will be provided, but it may be necessary for some students to sleep on mattresses on the floor.
Breakfast will take place at the Piazza Bar. Lunch and dinner will take place at Trattoria Zia Luciana. Traditional Italian breakfast is quite light: coffee or tea and a pastry. Lunch and dinner are more substantial meals. Sardinian food is delicious and hearty, but students should be aware that meat plays a large role in it. Given how small the town is and the local traditional cuisine, this program will not be able to accommodate any special diets (Kosher, Halal, vegan, high protein, etc.). There are hearty and nourishing vegetarian options available; however, the selection is limited.
Academic Credit:
8 Semester Credits Units (equivalent to 12 quarter credit units) through our School of Record -- Iowa Wesleyan University
