2026 Italy Prane Siddi

Location: 09020 Siddi, Province of South Sardinia, Italy

Season: June 14, 2026 to July 12, 2026

Application Deadline: April 10, 2026

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://anthroctr.org/program/2026-italy-prane-siddi/?preview_id=726&preview_nonce=c067eaced6&_thumbnail_id=728&preview=true

Discount for AIA members: None

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Cardiff University (UK), Civico Museo Archeologico “Su Mulinu” (Italy) & Anthropocene Research Center (US)

Project Director:
Dr. Emily Holt (Cardiff University UK) & Dr. Mauro Perra (Civico Museo Archeologico “Su Mulinu”, Italy)

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: Middle Bronze Age

Notes:
Tuition is $4,885; Earn 8 Semester Credit Units through our School of Record – Culver Stockton College

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Full session

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:
Cost of Room and Board is included in tuition.

Academic Credit:
8 Semester Credit Units through our School of Record – Culver Stockton College