Student Summer Plans 2011

The Department of Archaeology and Art History is pleased to announce the summer plans of its majors, which include internships and employment at a variety of institutions and participation in archaeological projects in the US and in Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Hungary, Romania and Cyprus.

Lizzie B., PAST Foundation's Slobodna Underwater Field School, Key West, FL
Elizabeth B., Internship with the History of Prince William Forest Park’s 45 Cemeteries and Homesteads, National Park Service, VA
Josephine C., Internship with Palm Beach County archaeologist, FL
Elizabeth F., Excavations at Poggio Civitate (Murlo), Italy
Amber F., Excavation and Internship at James Madison’s Montpelier, VA
Chris G., Summer Program Coordinator, Fort Collins Museum and Discovery Science Center, Fort Collins, CO
Kevin K., Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project, Turkey
Kaman L., Internship in the Department of Membership and Development and paid position in the museum, Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science, IN
Rachel L., Excavations at the Porolissum Forum Project, Romania
Stephanie L., Education Programs Assistant, Angel Mounds State Historic Site, IN
Samantha M., Excavations at Poggio Civitate (Murlo), Italy
Ben O., Internship at the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University, IN
Marley R., Excavations with Courson Archaeological Research near Perryton, TX
Alyssa R., Internship at Evelyn Lehman Culp Heritage Collection, IN
Anna S., Totah Archaeological Project Field School, NM
Katy S., SHUMLA Field Methods in Rock Art Field School and Internship, TX
Sara S., National Science Foundation – Research Experience for Undergraduates funded Koros Regional Archaeological Project, Hungary and Cyprus
Leah T., Internship at George Washington’s Mt. Vernon, VA
Lauren W., National Science Foundation – Research Experience for Undergraduates funded Fellowship in Bioarchaeology, University of Notre Dame, IN
Colleen W., Excavations at Tell Timai, Egypt
Porsche W., Facilitator at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL

In addition, five Archaeology majors will participate in the Summer Session I trip to Jordan in May-June led by Professors Byrne, Ebeling and Milner: Nate B., Emma D., Emily M., Ashley M., and Marie M.

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!

Student Cynthia Torrez in Athens



Cynthia inside the Parthenon during one of our on-site classes.

During the 2010 fall semester I studied in Athens, Greece with the College Year in Athens program. I feel like I had a unique experience because the program housed us in nearby apartment buildings so my roommates and I had only Greek neighbors. This is definitely something I know some study abroad students never get to experience. From day one we were fully immersed in a culture I knew very little about! This changed pretty quickly, however, and in my Archaeology of Athens, Modern Greek, and Greek Ethnography classes I learned plenty about Greece’s foundations, history and culture. Within the first week of classes, we were already going to on-site locations for my Archaeology of Athens class to get up close and personal with what we were studying. The first day we hiked up the Philopappos Hill, a hill just across from the Acropolis, and we got an amazing view of the city while we learned about the topography of Athens. 

During the first few weekends, my five other roommates and I explored Athens and the surrounding areas; we went to Sounio to see the Temple of Poseidon, to Meteora to see the amazing cliff-top monasteries, and to the island Hydra, where no motorized vehicles are permitted. A few weeks into the program, the school took all 150 students to the island of Crete for a week long field trip. After surviving th e 10 hour overnight ferry ride we arrived in the small town of Heraklion. The teachers were our tour guides as we went to sites around the island. One of the most interesting parts was watching the tour busses navigate the narrow, winding cliffside roads that covered most of the island. I’m still convinced that pure luck and magic got us around some of those sudden bends. After a week of visiting ancient Minoan sites all over the island and relaxing on the beaches during our free time, we headed back to Athens.


At Mycenae.

Later in the semester, the school took us on another field trip around the Peloponnese. My Ancient Greek Athletics professor took his classes to many of the old stadiums and sports sites, like Olympia, and we also visited a few Mycenaean sites. They also made sure we saw some other important modern sites like the man-made Corinth Canal and the new Rio Antirrio Bridge, a feat of engineering. We ended our trip at Delphi where we got to see the site of the oracle then we had to return to our “normal” lives in Athens.



Over Thanksgiving break a few friends and I went to Cairo. We got to see all the main sites but my favorite experience was when we went to some stables after dark and were able to ride horses through the desert to a Bedouin camp and drink tea while peering at the pyramids in the distance.

Sitting on the camp wall in Giza with the pyramids in the background.

However, after break, the semester was finishing up and most of my time was devoted to studying for finals. This didn't stop me from spending my last days wandering around Athens and seeing things I hadn’t seen yet around the city. I also practiced my Greek while souvenir shopping, and by now I could speak almost all Greek from the time I walked into a store to when I left. Most of the locals were surprised to hear I wasn’t at least Greek-American; I was pretty proud of myself about that. But finally the time came to leave. I'll hopefully find myself back there soon.

Latest on the Looting at the Egyptian National Museum in Cairo


Find out the latest from the Associated Press on attempts to control looting at the National Museum in Cairo and see some dramatic photos from inside the museum at Egypt: Military Detains 50 at Museum


Be sure to check out Zahi Hawass' blog to see even more recent information.

Jordan and Egypt during summer session I

UE professors Ebeling (Archaeology), Byrne (History) and Milner (Political Science/International Studies) are teaching a 3-credit course during first summer session in Jordan and Egypt May 15-June 7, 2011.  Archaeology majors can earn ARCH 320 credits for taking this course.  Please contact Dr E for details!  A nonrefundable $500 deposit is due February 4.

Angelina Jolie to play Cleopatra: Is she too white?

The New York Daily News reports on the controversy over Angelina Jolie's upcoming role as Cleopatra. Is she too white to play the Egyptian queen?



Read the article at http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2010/06/19/2010-06-19_angelina_jolie_draws_criticism_for_being_too_white_to_play_cleopatra_in_upcoming.html