2026 Italy Roca Vecchia

Location: 73026 Roca, Province of Lecce, Italy

Season: August 30, 2026 to September 26, 2026

Application Deadline: August 7, 2026

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://anthroctr.org/program/2026-italy-roca-vecchia/

Discount for AIA members: None

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Università del Salento(Italy) & Anthropocene Research Center (US)

Project Director:
Prof. Teodoro Scarano, Università del Salento (Italy)

Project Description:

The Bronze Age fortified settlement of Roca Vecchia was a strategic key-site for the crossing routes between the Aegean and the Central Mediterranean. Maybe more important, the site includes the Grotta Poesia cave, an important cult center since prehistory. Roca Vecchia was settled from the mid-17th to the late 11th century BCE and was protected by a massive wall, repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over time. Finds from the Middle Bronze Age levels (17th-14th century BCE) clearly attest to the early involvement of Roca within the Aegean network. Finds include an unusual variety of products of both Minoan, Italo-Minoan and local Italian pottery. These artifacts indicate active and intensive trading along the southern Adriatic routes already at these early dates. Despite the unquestionable local identity of the site, Late Bronze Age Roca yielded more Aegean-type ceramics than any other settlement in Italy (including a large variety of both imports and their imitations). Roca appears to have been characterized by cultural hybridization of the local Italian population with Minoan and Mycenaean elements.

Recent investigations carried out in Roca suggest that extensive ritual practices were linked to collective ceremonial activities, incorporating rituals and symbols of both local and Aegean origin. Final Bronze Age evidence include exotica – such as ivory and amber, metalworking activities in bronze and gold, including gold sun discs and ornaments – suggesting the wealth and centrality of Roca for the central Mediterranean area.

During the forthcoming seasons, students will participate in investigating both Bronze Age fortifications and settlement area as well as funerary evidence dating to the second and first millennium BCE.

Period(s) of Occupation: Bronze Age

Notes:
Tuition is $4,900; Earn 8 Semester Credit Units (equivalent to 12 Quarter 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: According to the Italian Soprintendenza (National Heritage Authority) rules, participants must provide the following documentation: 1. A letter from your physician stating that your health permits you to participate in all school activities, including excavations. 2. Certificate that you had an obligatory tetanus vaccination or up-to-date booster. There are no academic prerequisites for this field school. This is hands-on, experiential learning and students will study on-site how to conduct archaeological research. Fieldwork 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 and tired. 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 be accommodated at Hotel Belvedere in Torre dell'Orso. Torre dell'Orso is a charming town in the region of Melendugno (Lecce), located on the Adriatic coast of Salento, not far from the archaeological site of Roca Vecchia. Rooms are comfortable and bright and equipped with single and double beds, wardrobes, chairs, wi-fi, TV and air conditioning. On the terrace of the structure there is a swimming pool overlooking the Bay of Torre dell'Orso. Breakfast and dinner are provided by the hotel and students will travel with project vehicles. Dinner is based on Italian cuisine and includes a daily choice of a first and a second between two alternatives that change daily plus fruit or dessert. Water is included but other drinks are not paid by the program. Students with special diets or food allergies must communicate directly with program staff to explore the possibility of accommodating their diet in this position.

Academic Credit:
8 Semester Credit Units (equivalent to 12 Quarter Credit Units) through our School of Record – Culver Stockton College