Croatia: Lobor – Institute for Field Research

Location: 49253, Lobor, Croatia

Season: June 18, 2023 to July 15, 2023

Session Dates: June 18–July 15, 2023

Application Deadline: May 8, 2023

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://ifrglobal.org/program/croatia-lobor-summer/

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
University of Zagreb, Connecticut College, Institute for Field Research

Project Director:
Dr. Krešimir Filipec, Dr. Zdravka Hincak, Ms. Jana Skrgulja

Project Description:

Lobor is a sacred archaeological site that has been active since prehistoric times. It played an important role in Late Antiquity when various barbarian groups (Germanic and others) crossed the borders into the Western Roman Empire. In the period between the 4th and 7th centuries, settlements were relocated to hilltops so that they could provide better protection for the inhabitants and make visual communication between such elevated spots easier. At that time, a large early Christian basilica was built in Lobor. It was probably erected on the site of a former temple dedicated to Diana. After the early Christian church was destroyed, first a pre-Romanesque church and then a Romanesque church were built. These churches marked another important period in Lobor’s history, the Carolingian period. The remains of the only wooden church known so far in northwestern Croatia have been discovered at the site. The wooden church is likely to have served as a temporary shrine between the respective periods of activity of the pre-Romanesque church and the Romanesque church. Since the very beginnings, the Lobor site has been associated with female cults, first the goddess Diana and later the Virgin Mary. It has remained so until today.

The churches are surrounded by a cemetery with burials dating back to prehistoric times and up to the 19th century. Every year, research into one part of the cemetery is conducted. Students learn the process of determining the area of a burial, cleaning the skeletons in the soil, drawing, photography, dealing with in situ finds, removing and packing the bones, and laboratory analysis of skeletons. The Bioarchaeological School at Lobor began is 2016 as the Croatian Science Foundation project. The projects aims to reconstruct the profile of communities that lived in the area, from trauma analysis to DNA and facial reconstruction of individual skeletons.

Period(s) of Occupation: Late Antiquity and Carolingian Age

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Participants must stay entire duration of the field school.

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: No prior experience required.

Room and Board Arrangements:
In Zagreb, students will either share a residence hall or a rented apartment. In Lobor, students will be housed at the Hunting Lodge in the foothills of the site. Getting daily to the work area and project facilities involves a 10 minutes walk uphill. The center of the village, where shops and bars can be found, is a 5 minutes walk from the lodge. The Hunting Lodge provides 3 – 6 persons bedrooms, two bathrooms with showers, three separate toilets, a kitchen, a common room with a fireplace and a large enclosed terrace. A local restaurant provides two hot meals a day, which are chosen from their daily menus. Breakfast and dinner are self-served from provisions provided by the project. The field school can accommodate vegetarians, vegans, and students with gluten and lactose intolerance. Students with specific dietary needs should report their preferences in the field school application.

Academic Credit:
8 Semester Credits credits offered by Connecticut College. Tuition is $5,305.