Archaeological Tour 2027: Your dream as an archaeologist come true: Egypt. Archaeological Tour of the Nile Valley (Cairo, Luxor and Aswan – Egypt), tuition USD 3,400, sessions from May 24’2027 to October 13’2027 (SANISERA ARCHAEOLOGY INSTITUTE)

Location: The Great Pyramid of Giza, Al Haram, Nazlet El-Semman, Al Haram, Egypt

Season: May 24, 2027 to October 13, 2027

Session Dates: Session 1: May 24 - June 2 (USD 3,400) | Session 2: June 14-23 (3,400) | Session 3: July 19-28 (3,400) | Session 4: July 28 - August 6 (3,400) | Session 5: September 13-22 (3,400) | Session 6: October 4-13 (3,400). All sessions 2027, 10 days each. Minimum group of 10 students. Rolling admission until each session is full.

Application Deadline: October 4, 2027

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://archaeology.institute/061-archaeological-tour-egypt-giza-luxor-nile-cruise-aswan.asp

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Sanisera Archaeology Institute for International Field Schools

Project Director:
Fernando Contreras Rodrigo, Course Director. Licenciatura in History with specialisation in Classical Archaeology (Autonomous University of Barcelona), a five-year degree officially recognised in Spain at Master's level (MECES 3). Director of the Sanisera Archaeology Institute; since 1993 he has directed research, conservation and heritage-management projects in Spain, Italy and the United Arab Emirates, and since 2015 annual excavation and restoration missions for the Government of Dubai. José Luis López Delgado, Egypt specialist and lecturer on site. Specialist guide in Egypt with more than forty tours led across the country; specialisation in Roman numismatics; long-standing collaborator and co-author of the Institute's publications on the Roman city of Sanisera. An English-speaking Egyptian guide and expert in Egyptian archaeology accompanies the group throughout the course.

Project Description:

A ten-day field course on the archaeology of Egypt, conceived as a travelling seminar rather than a tourist trip, run by the Sanisera Archaeology Institute, which has trained more than 3,400 students, most of them from universities in the United States and Canada, since 1996. The group visits the principal monuments of Egyptian civilisation and several rarely visited sites of the Nile Valley, accompanied throughout by an expert in Egyptian archaeology who explains each site from the point of view of research: how it was excavated, what is known and what is still under discussion.

Course 061 follows the historical sequence of Egypt from north to south: Giza (pyramids and Sphinx), the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir; Saqqara and Dahshur (step pyramid, mastabas, Serapeum, Bent and Red pyramids); Dendera and Abydos; Thebes (Karnak, Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Deir el-Bahari, Colossi of Memnon); and a four-night Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan with stops at Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae. The aim is for students to learn to read the monuments as an archaeologist does: building phases, iconographic programmes, stone-working techniques and funerary contexts.

Learning outcomes. On completion students are able to: explain the evolution of the pyramid from the mastaba to Giza and the organisation of an Old Kingdom royal funerary complex; read the plan of an Egyptian temple and distinguish New Kingdom from Ptolemaic architecture; describe the structure and decoration of a New Kingdom royal tomb; recognise royal cartouches, titularies and offering formulae on monuments; distinguish periods and styles of relief, painting and statuary in situ; place the main sites in the chronology of Egypt and discuss current research debates; and present a monument or site orally with appropriate archaeological language.

Format. Days 2 to 9 are devoted entirely to guided study visits to sites, temples and museums (approximately 8 hours per day with on-site lectures and discussion), for approximately 64 instructional hours; day 1 is the arrival day in Cairo and day 10 the departure day. Taught in English; groups of 10 to 15 students.

Assessment. Daily participation and engagement in the visits (40 %), daily journal (20 %), monument record sheets (20 %) and a final presentation on a monument or site of the itinerary (20 %); letter grades A to F; minimum attendance 85 %. Students receive a Certificate of Completion stating the course, dates, 64 instructional hours and final grade and, on request, a Student Evaluation Report signed by the Course Director for their home institution.

Sessions and tuition 2027 (10 days each, USD 3,400, accommodation and all meals included): May 24 – June 2 · June 14-23 · July 19-28 · July 28 – August 6 · September 13-22 · October 4-13. Rolling admission until each session is full; minimum group of 10.

A full syllabus is attached to this listing as the brochure. Course page: www.archaeology.institute/061-archaeological-tour-egypt-giza-luxor-nile-cruise-aswan.asp · Apply: application form

Period(s) of Occupation: Ancient Egypt from the Early Dynastic period to Roman and Christian Egypt (c. 3100 BC - 6th century AD): Giza, Saqqara, Dahshur, Dendera, Abydos, Thebes (Karnak, Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Deir el-Bahari), Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae; Grand Egyptian Museum and Egyptian Museum (Tahrir).

Notes:
FORMAT AND INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS. A ten-day field course conceived as a travelling seminar, not a tourist trip: days 2 to 9 are devoted entirely to guided study visits to sites, temples and museums (approx. 8 hours per day with on-site lectures and discussion) = approx. 64 instructional hours; day 1 is the arrival day and day 10 the departure day. Taught in English; maximum 15 students per session, minimum group of 10 for the session to run. ASSESSMENT. Daily participation and engagement in the visits (40 %), daily journal (20 %), monument record sheets, one per site (20 %) and a final presentation on a monument or site of the itinerary, delivered on day 9 (20 %). Letter grades A-F; minimum attendance 85 %. Students receive a Certificate of Completion stating the course, dates, 64 instructional hours and final grade and, on request, a Student Evaluation Report signed by the Course Director for their home institution. SYLLABUS. The full syllabus (objectives, learning outcomes, day-by-day itinerary, assessment, instructors, readings) is attached as the brochure of this listing and published on the course page. PAYMENT. A deposit of USD 450 (part of the tuition) reserves the place; the balance is due 60 days before the session. Refund policy on the website. Valid passport (six months) and Egyptian entry visa required (e-visa or on arrival, approx. USD 30).

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: One session (10 days)

Minimum Age: 18.

Experience Required: None. Open to students and graduates in archaeology, history, anthropology, art history, Egyptology and related disciplines, and to anyone interested in Egyptian archaeology. Introductory level.

Room and Board Arrangements:
ROOM: included. Four- and five-star hotels in Cairo (double or triple rooms separated by sex, with breakfast) and four nights on board a Nile cruise ship between Luxor and Aswan (double cabins, full board). BOARD: included. All meals of the programme (hotel breakfasts, full board on the cruise and the meals scheduled during the visits). Drinks not included. TUITION INCLUDES: tuition and teaching, accommodation and all meals, internal flights Cairo-Luxor and Aswan-Cairo, all transfers and transport, entrance tickets to the sites, temples and museums of the programme (including the interior of three pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum), English-speaking guide and expert in Egyptian archaeology, basic travel insurance, taxes and fuel, Certificate of Completion. NOT INCLUDED: airfare to/from Cairo, Egyptian entry visa (approx. USD 30), drinks, tips, personal extras and optional cancellation insurance.

Academic Credit:
Available through the student's home institution. The Sanisera Archaeology Institute does not award credit directly, but provides everything a department needs to grant it: a full syllabus (64 instructional hours, learning outcomes, assessment and A-F grading), a Certificate of Completion with the final grade and, on request, a Student Evaluation Report signed by the Course Director. Students from more than 40 universities in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia have obtained credit for Sanisera courses this way (reference scale: 80 hours = 4 semester credits; this course is typically approved for 3 credits). Pre-approval from the student's department before registration is recommended. A School of Record agreement with a US accredited institution is in progress. Details: www.archaeology.institute (Academic credit).