Geopysical Exploration and Archaeological Excavation (Transylvania, Romania)


Location: Vetel - Rapolt, Romania

Season: 
June 2, 2019 to June 29, 2019

Application Deadline: 
Friday, March 15, 2019

Deadline Type: 
Contact for details

Website: 
https://www.archaeotek-archaeology.org/gpr-exploration-and-excavation

Program Type

Field school
Volunteer

RPA certified

no

Affiliation:

Archaeological Techniques and Research Center (Canada) and Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilizations (Deva, Romania)

Project Director:

Dr. Andre Gonciar (Archaeological Techniques and Research Center - Canada); Isabel Morris (Princeton University); Dr. Gica Baestean (Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilizations)

Project Description

This program is designed for participants who want to acquire intensive, hands on, practical experience in both archaeological excavation and geophysical exploration. Our research area is situated between the richest gold deposits in Europe, the Dacian Kingdom’s political and religious capital and its fortified satellites in the Carpathian Mountains, and Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana, the Roman capital of the Dacian provinces and the first Roman city North of the Danube. Southwestern Transylvania was a highly integrated military, political, and economic region. During the Roman colonial occupation, 102-271 AD, our target area, by the intersection of the Mures River and the main Roman road linking Sarmizegetusa to Apulum, shows a very dynamic and intensive synthesis of Roman provincial life, where a multitude of processes of colonization and creolization take place side by side.

Our ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys have already revealed a rural villa of “palatial” size, unique in the Dacian Provinces, covering ca. 1.2ha of built space. We will continue excavating this rich environment, with 2 story buildings, painted walls, potential colonnades, several buildings outside the villa complex itself and a plethora of artifacts.

Our Ground Penetrating (GPR) case study site at Micia provides an unparalleled access to a diverse set of features and conditions.  We address urban and proto-urban settlement construction, complex anthropogenic stratigraphic relationships, variation in soil structure and conditions, wide range of materials and their use/reuse, unmapped ancient and modern utilities, potential graves, modern and ancient civil works projects (including the remains of roads, aqueducts, and wells), changes in hydrogeological environment caused by modern human intervention (construction and operation of thermal power plant), and any additional and as-yet undiscovered features.

Period(s) of Occupation: Geophysics (GPR), Roman (Imperial, Provincial); Late (Roman) Iron Age - Dacian; Daco-Roman

Notes: 
Excavation of a rural villa of “palatial” size, unique in the Dacian Provinces (Transylvania), covering ca. 1ha of built space (3 weeks). Intensive ground penetrating radar (GPR) application workshop, including theory, field exploration and data analysis (6 days).

Project size: 
1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: 4 weeks

Minimum age: 
18

Experience required: 
None required. Training in excavation, geophysics (GPR) survey and processing provided. Various lectures will be offered throughout the program.

Room and Board Arrangements

We house everyone in double or triple occupancy rooms in the village houses. Every house is equipped with bathrooms. You will be guests of Romanian families and will have a chance to discover the true sense of old fashion Transylvanian hospitality. You will experience some of the nicest aspects of Eastern European country life, indulging in your guest families home made cookies and a variety of  home made traditional  beverages. Generally speaking, you will have all the advantages of a country life with the comfort of an urban environment.

Breakfast and dinner is included during the work week and we will eat as a team in one of the local restaurants. Students are responsible for their own lunches in the field. Beaware that Romanian cuisine is meat oriented (although we do our best to satisfy vegetarians as well).

Cost: 
$2295 for the 4 week session

Academic Credit

Number of credits offered: none

Location

Contact Information
Dr. A. Gonciar
Minnesota Ave.
Buffalo
New York
Romania
archaeology@archaeotek.org
Recommended Bibliography: 

Alicu, D.  & Adela Paki, 1995. Town Planning and Population in Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa. BAR IS 605, Oxford.

Ciugudean, D., 2001. Workshops and manufacturing techniques at Apulum (2nd and 3rd century AD). British International Series, 937:61-72.

De Sena, E.C., and H. Dobrzanska (eds.), 2011. The Roman Empire and beyond : archaeological and historical research on the Romans and native cultures in Central Europe. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Diaconescu, A., 2004. The towns of Roman Dacia: an overview of recent archaeological research. In W.S. Hanson and I.P. Haynes (eds.), 2004. Roman Dacia: the Making of a Provincial Society. Portsmouth: Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series, 56.

Haynes, I.P., and W.S. Hanson, 2004. An introduction to Roman Dacia. In W.S. Hanson and I.P. Haynes (eds.), 2004. Roman Dacia: the Making of a Provincial Society. Portsmouth: Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series, 56.

Hanson, W.S. and I.P. Haynes (eds.), 2004. Roman Dacia: the Making of a Provincial Society. Portsmouth: Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series, 56.

Lockyear, K., 2004. The Late Iron Age background to Roman Dacia. In W.S. Hanson and I.P. Haynes (eds.), 2004. Roman Dacia: the Making of a Provincial Society. Portsmouth: Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series, 56.

Macrea, Mihai, 1969. Life in Roman Dacia. Bucharest.

Oltean, Ioana A., 2007. Dacia. Landscape, Colonisation, Romanisation. Routledge, London.

Oltean, I.A,, 2004. Rural settlement in Roman Dacia: some considerations. In W.S. Hanson and I.P. Haynes (eds.), 2004. Roman Dacia: the Making of a Provincial Society. Portsmouth: Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series, 56.

Oltean, I.A. & W.S. Hanson, 2007. Villa settlement in Roman Transylvania. Journal of Roman Archaeology 20:113-137.

Opreanu, C.H., 2009. Chronology and cultural identity of the interaction zones over the frontiers of Roman Dacia. In O., Tentea, and I.C. Opris (eds.), Near and Beyond the Roman Frontiers. Bucharest: Center for Roman Military Studies, 5, pp. 129-150.

Opreanu, C.H., 2009. Chronology and cultural identity of the interaction zones over the frontiers of Roman Dacia. In O., Tentea, and I.C. Opris (eds.), Near and Beyond the Roman Frontiers. Bucharest: Center for Roman Military Studies, 5, pp. 129-150.

Ruscu, D. 2004. The supposed extermination of the Dacians: the literary tradition. In W.S. Hanson and I.P. Haynes (eds.), 2004. Roman Dacia: the Making of a Provincial Society. Portsmouth: Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series, 56.

Tentea, O., and I.C. Opris (eds.), 2009. Near and Beyond the Roman Frontiers. Bucharest: Center for Roman Military Studies, 5.

Webster, J., 2001. Creolizing the Roman Provinces. American Journal of Archaeology, 105:209-225.

Weiss, D., 2011. Influence and observation: towards a more concrete understanding of the Roman-Dacian limes. In E.C. De Sena, and H. Dobrzanska (eds.), The Roman Empire and beyond : archaeological and historical research on the Romans and native cultures in Central Europe. Oxford: Archaeopress.