Medieval Cemetery Funerary Excavation Field School in Romania

Check out this 2023 bioarchaeology field school, the Medieval Cemetery Funerary Excavation. The field school is designed for both undergraduate and graduate students.

This program provides a unique opportunity to conduct extensive hands-on training and research on an exceptional well preserved medieval cemetery, with in situ remains dating from the 11th to the 18th century. Through the excavation of an abandoned medieval church in the Transylvanian (Romania) village of Valeni (Hu: Patakfalva), we are exploring how centuries of religious and political upheaval have influenced demographics and health of the individuals interred within the church walls and associated cemetery. The very high state of preservation has allowed us to retrieve, already, the complete adult and juvenile, the latter ranging from pre-natal to sub-adult, skeletal remains from over 1200 individuals.

This field school project is part of a broader investigation of the abandonment of medieval churches in the area and provides significant opportunities for students to get involved in international bioarchaeology, multi-institution networking and collaboration, and addressing biological, archaeological, and cultural questions. Over the course of each 4-week session, students will acquire skills in broad and small scale mortuary excavation, drawing, mapping, and note taking; thereby, developing the strategic bioarchaeology skill necessary to acquire jobs working for both archaeological and forensic organizations around the world. Evenings and rain days will be used to design and complete projects using excavated materials. Students will have the opportunity to present their research in Romania, at the International Colloquium in Osteology and Bioarchaeology held every year at the Haáz Rezső Museum, as well as other major conferences if they so choose. The institutions involved are interested in extensive research and publication, allowing for many directions of continued investigation and student involvement and research.

Participants can further register to one of our Osteology Workshops, respectively the Adult Osteology Research Laboratory Workshop or the Juvenile Osteology Research Laboratory Workshop, in order to develop a wider array of skill sets. Undergraduate and graduate cademic credits can be acquired separately from University of South Florida (although it is not required to register for credits to participate in our programs).

Program details:

Funerary Excavation Dates:
Session 1: June 4 – July 1, 2023
Session 2: July 2 – July 29, 2023

Location: Valeni (Patakfalva), Transylvania, Romania

Website: https://www.archaeotek-archaeology.org/medieval-cemetery-funerary-excavation

University of South Florida Credit Information: contact Dr. J. Bethard at jbethard@usf.edu

Project Director: Dr. Katie Zejdlik (Western Carolina University)

Contact: Dr. Andre Gonciar at archaeology@archaeotek.org