Monastic Archaeology Field School at Lindores Abbey

Location: University of St Andrews and Lindores Abbey Distillery

Season: June 2, 2025 to July 10, 2025

Session Dates: 9 June to 4 July 2025

Application Deadline: March 17, 2025

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study-abroad/at-st-andrews/summer-study/monastic-scotland/

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
University of St Andrews

Project Director:
Alison I. Beach

Project Description:

Excavations at Lindores Abbey in Fife, Scotland, a twelfth-century Tironensian monastery for men. This unique four-week Summer Study course offers students the opportunity to explore the history of medieval Scotland first-hand. In addition to classroom-based study of the history of medieval monasticism in Scotland, students will gain extensive hands-on training and experience in field excavation, lab-based bioarcheology, archival work, and cultural heritage management.

Thanks to an exciting new partnership between the University of St Andrews and Lindores Abbey Distillery, students will have the opportunity to participate in excavations at Lindores Abbey, a twelfth-century monastery with a tradition of distilling on the site dating back to the fifteenth century.

Our excavations are designed to examine the relationship between the abbey and its landscape, and particularly its relationship with and use of water. Investigations will include both the wider landscape of the abbey and the development of waterways, including the nearby River Tay and Loch of Lindores, and the use of water within the monastic precinct itself.

Period(s) of Occupation: Medieval

Notes:
No prior excavation experience is necessary, and students will earn transferable St Andrews credit while studying with expert archaeologists and historians. Option for lab-based bioarchaeology supplement and heritage management training.

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: 4 Weeks

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: None

Room and Board Arrangements:
Included in course fee. Students are housed with catering in St Andrews' David Russell Apartments