Ancient history enthusiasts invited to join expert archaeological digs

Thursday 21 March 2024

Islanders interested in ancient history are invited to sign up for a series of archaeological digs at important sites in Jersey and Greece alongside experts in the field.

The Jersey International Centre of Advanced Studies (JICAS) is organising two summer field schools for both islanders and international participants, led by experts from Jersey, the UK, and European universities.

The field schools will take place at La Hougue de Vinde in Jersey and at a small uninhabited island called Despotiko in Greece.

Pictured: JICAS Field school team excavating at La Hougue de Vinde in Jersey.

Participants will learn new techniques such as excavation, restoration, and preservation techniques, and record data while conducting surveys, JICAS said.

The postgraduate research institute said that La Hougue de Vinde in Jersey is home to the largest and most important Neanderthal site in Northwestern Europe — which has produced more artefacts and fossilised remains than the rest of the UK put together.

In Greece, the 37-acre island of Despotiko played a pivotal role as a religious sanctuary dedicated to the Greek god Apollo, with recent excavations uncovering a complex of temples, altars, and remnants of ancient rituals.

GET INVOLVED...

The Jersey field school will take place from 1 to 20 July and will cost £799 per person.

It is being run in partnership with Société Jersiaise, Jersey Heritage and the University of Exeter and will be led by the following experts:

• Dr Matthew Pope (MCIfA. FSA) is Principal Research Fellow in Palaeolithic archaeology at University College London and leads multiple fieldwork projects spanning the last 600,000 years of early human occupation in Northern Europe.
• Dr Helen Dawson (MCIfA) is Adjunct Professor at the University of Bologna, Associate Research Fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin, and Senior Research Fellow at JICAS. She has extensive fieldwork experience in the UK and Mediterranean countries and a special interest in islands.
• Dr Hervé Duval (ACIfA) is Field Archaeologist at the Société Jersiaise and Associate Research Fellow at Rennes University and leads the development of research programmes in the Channel Islands.

The Despotiko field school will take place from 14 to 30 June and will cost £3,500 per person, including travel, accommodation, dinner, and cultural activities.

It will be run in collaboration with the Ephorate of the Antiquities of the Cyclades, Greek Ministry of Culture and will be led by the following experts:

• Yannos Kourayos is an Archaeologist at the Greek Ministry of Culture. He directs excavations on the sanctuary of Apollo at Despotiko and has several articles and books on the archaeology and art of Paros and Despotiko and has given more than 100 talks at universities in Europe, the USA, Brazil and Japan.
• Dr Erica Angliker (BA, MA) is a Research Fellow at the British School of Athens and a Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Unicamp, Brazil. Erica has worked as a scientific member at the excavations in Despotiko since 2011 and is the author of a range of articles on the religion and archaeology of the Archaic and Classical Cyclades.

No prior experience in archaeology is required.

Applications close on 1 April 2024.

You can find out more here or email info@jicas.ac.je for an application form and prospectus.

Pictured top: Despotiko island in Greece.