There's a coffin in the Department of Archaeology and Art History's fourth floor suite ...

... and it's not meant to be a threat to end-of-semester slackers. 

At least not yet.

Created by junior Archaeology and Art History major Kaman L. for Ancient Technology class, this coffin is a replica of the Middle Kingdom coffin of Lady Mesehti from Asyut, Egypt now in the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, CA.  The design of the new coffin has been modified to fit its creator.

Come check it out!

Sarah B. talks about her trip to Paris

During my time at Harlaxton, I've had the chance to go to several exciting places. Just a few of them include London, Bath, Edinburgh, Paris, Barcelona and Dublin. I've enjoyed visiting all of these places, but so far one of my favorite places to explore has been Paris. There were so many beautiful parts of the city to see. I really enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe and, of course, Notre Dame. All were very impressive and breathtaking. I must admit it was a little surreal being able to see these buildings and monuments, which I've learned so much about, in person.

I think my favorite part of the trip was going to see the Palace of Versailles. It was more gorgeous that I could have imagined. There were chandeliers and gold everywhere, and the gardens, while not in full bloom, were still absolutely beautiful. They were also a little confusing, however, and we got turned around several times! Through the gardens are the Grand and Petit Trianons which were occupied by Marie Antoinette before the French Revolution. These were probably my favorite buildings to see. Two words: pink marble. All in all it was a fantastic trip with great sights and wonderful food...fantastic desserts and lots of bread (people just carry it around with them; it's amazing). I would highly recommend a trip to Paris, the City of Love!

Flintknapping!

About two weeks ago, students from UE and USI participated in a 4-hour flintnkapping workshop with master flintknapper Larry Kinsella at Angel Mounds.



UE Archaeology students approach the Interpretive Center.

By all accounts, everyone learned a lot from Larry and had fun banging up chert and obsidian.


Shirley Schwarz Prize Announcement

The Department of Archaeology and Art History is pleased to announce the 2011 Shirley J. Schwarz Prize for the best undergraduate research paper on an art historical topic. The winner will receive a $250 cash prize.

Papers entered need not have been written for an art history class or a class in any particular discipline. They must, however, address an issue related to the history of visual art or the impact of visual art on society. Papers from disciplines such as art history, history, archaeology, art, visual communications, and other areas may qualify, depending on the subject matter. The award is intended to support undergraduate research in the history of art, and so entries must include formal documentation in the form of footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical notes, along with a bibliography of sources consulted. Undocumented essay-type assignments should not be submitted. A faculty jury will evaluate papers submitted. Entries will be judged on the basis of the quality of research evident, critical analysis, proper documentation, and clarity.

Students should submit one complete copy of their paper. Entrants' names should not appear anywhere within the body of the paper. Each submission must have a SEPARATE title page indicating the title of the paper, student's full name, campus address, and phone number.

In order for the competition to be fair, students should not ask or expect faculty to critique or proofread entries for them. They certainly may (and should) respond to any comments, suggestions, or corrections made on the original assignment, if it derives from a paper submitted for a class.

The deadline for submissions is April 29, 2011; the winner will be announced in May. Please submit entries to the administrative assistant of the Archaeology/Art History Department, Kimberly Higgins, in Olmsted Hall, Room 350.

Joanne D. and Alli H. present at NCUR

Two Archaeology seniors - Joanne D. and Alli H. - presented their original research at the 2011 National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Ithaca, NY March 31-April 2.  Both received funding from the UExplore Undergraduate Research Program at UE to support their research in 2010-11.

Joanne's presentation, The Kuester Site, focused on Joanne's analysis of the pottery from this Native American site in southwest Indiana. 

Alli's presentation, Origins of Egyptian Trade in the Southern Levant: A Case Study from Israel's Coast, focused on Alli's analysis of the ground stone artifacts from the site of Tel Ifshar, Israel.

Congratulations to both!

Megan A. talks about her trip to Malta

Junior Megan A. is studying at Harlaxton this semester; this is a report on some of her travels.


Megan at the Blue Grotto, Malta.



Megan in Mdina, Malta.

 While studying abroad at Harlaxton, I've had so many amazing opportunities and experiences. I've been to Barcelona, Spain to see the Sagrada Familia, Scotland to see Edinburgh Castle, and I’ve visited sites all around England, but my favorite trip so far has been to Malta. With the highest concentration of UNESCO World Heritage sites anywhere in the world, it's like a giant open-air museum. I saw everything from the oldest standing structures on earth (the Neolithic temples) to Christian catacombs, to the Medieval City.

Occupying a strategic place in the Mediterranean, Malta has been occupied by many different peoples and each one left a unique mark on their culture. Multicolored boats float on the crystal clear water, citadels and fortresses rise up out of the cities, and their rich food reflects the diversity that has made them what they are today. If you're ever puttering around Europe and need something to do, I highly recommend a visit to Malta!



Emma D. reports on her trip to Paris

Junior Archaeology major Emma D. is at Harlaxton this semester, and this is a report on her travels in France.

The first night in Paris, some friends and I decided to get some bread and wine since it seemed fitting. We had wanted to walk down by the river but we couldn’t find the river at first; as we were walking behind this building, Luke said, “This building looks important; let’s find it on the map." The building we were standing behind was the Louvre! As we were about to cross the street, we all stopped and looked up, and what did I see but the Eiffel Tower in all its glory, with thousands of sparkling lights and a spot light on the top. Well, it took two hours to actually make it to the base of the Eiffel Tower, but it was amazing. I’m so glad we went to see it that first night, as it made us feel that we were really in Paris!

The next day we went to Notre Dame, where I took a picture of every stained glass window. The entire time I was there I was singing "God Bless the Outcasts" from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. After that, we walked across the River Seine, saw scuba divers, and made our way to the Louvre. We had been walking around the Louvre for about three hours when, suddenly we walked down some stairs and there was this large stone wall in front of us: a moat wall. I couldn’t believe that the Louvre has a moat! The History Museum in Houston has nothing on the Louvre.

The next day, Sarah and I went to the Chateatu de Versailles and it was amazing! Every room was better than the last and it was all simply gorgeous. I could have spent years there; I took a photo of every room. We walked around the gardens for a couple of hours and, although nothing was blooming yet, it was still magnificent. After the gardens we walked to the Grand Trianon, which is made of pink marble. After that, we saw the Petit Trianon, which had been made for Marie Antoinette. There was even a Love Temple.

The next day we walked to the Sacred Heart Cathedral and down the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe, which was amazing! It was fascinating to imagine all the famous people who had walked or driven down the Champs Elysees. I walked in the footsteps of Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Churchill, de Gaulle, and even Hitler. After that we went back to the Eiffel Tower and started the climb up, except when we reached the second level we had to buy tickets to reach the top and there was a two- hour wait, and the ticket booth would not be open for another two hours. So we decided to wait until it started to rain, and then we made a hasty exit. But we still got drenched …

All in all, my trip was amazing and I love Paris!

Colleen W. ('10) presents paper at graduate student conference

Colleen W. presented a paper entitled "The Effects of Media on Public Opinion: Case Study - Moorehead Circle, Fort Ancient State Memorial, Ohio" at the 5th Annual Anthropology Graduate Student Association (AGSA) Symposium at Indiana University in Bloomington.  The theme of this year's symposium was "The Technologies of Culture."  Colleen's presentation was based on her senior seminar paper written in fall 2010, which she wrote in response to her participation in the 2010 field season at Fort Ancient, OH.  Congratulations, Colleen!

Sara S. on the Koros Project in Hungary

Sara S. was one of seven undergraduate and graduate students in the US selected to participate in the NSF-funded Koros Regional Archaeological Project.  Here is an update from the field:

Sara with her bucket of artifacts found on survey.

The Koros Regional Archaeological Project is focused on the area north of the Koros River near Veszto, Hungary. There are several different aspects of the project that I am participating in, including survey, excavation and geophysical investigations assisted by GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar). Team members are switched from one project to another, and one of the most important is surveying or surface collection. This project takes place on a good patch of farm land, which means that plenty of the land is tilled. This tilling often brings up artifacts like daub, ceramics, bones, lithics and even ground stones. A large part of the project is possible because of the survey component. For instance, the two areas where excavations are currently taking place were chosen because of the colossal amount of finds unearthed during earlier seasons by the survey team. This year we have found two more possible excavation sites for future workers.