Duration: 2 months- twice a week- (3 April '012 - 2 June '012)
Further information and registration:
Email: hellenistic.studies@bibalex.org
Tel.: (+203) 4839999 Ext: 1920 (work hours from 9am to 5pm)
Location: Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Hellenistic Center (B4)
Methods of the Archaeological Research
(Non-destructive archaeology)
Course Description
The course aims to give a complete view on the new survey methods and to introduce the non-destructive archaeology research in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt. Students will be able to identify the site and to work in field with easy process.
Course Structure
The course is divided into two parts: the first will be held in the lecture rooms for the first four weeks of the course. Each week we will have two lectures and one discussion seminar.
The second part of the course will be comprised of visits to archaeological sites in the Delta and Mariout regions in order to apply the theories, methodologies and techniques discussed in the first part of the course.
Part 1: Introduction to Archaeological Theory, Excavation, and Survey
The student will learn, by the end of the course, the modern methods of the archaeological research, beginning with archaeological theory and ending with survey techniques. In the first two weeks of the course, we will consider many of the major theories of the discipline of archaeology with special focus to the Hellenistic period. The differences between old and new archaeology will be explored. The methods of data collection and interpretation of each single find, as well as the importance of different classes of evidence, will be considered in order to help students understand how archaeologist arrive at their conclusions. In the third and fourth week of the course, the two main types of archaeological fieldwork, survey and site excavation, are discussed.
Excavation is a destructive activity, while survey allows archaeologists to gather a great deal of information without interrupting the site. We will consider the types of questions that archaeologists seek to answer by excavating or surveying, as well as the methodologies and techniques used in these two methods. The challenges of excavating and surveying in Egypt are also considered.
Part 2: site visits
During the second month of this course, we will visit the major sites of the Western Delta, Mariout, and Alexandria. For one of the assessments of this course, students will learn how to deal with the cultural materials of a society in small groups. Research teams will be created to focus on definite cases by creating database for certain sites.
Reading
Alcock, S.E & Cherry, J.F. (2004), Side by side survey, comparative regional studies in the Mediterranean world, ed. Oxford.
Banning, E.B. (2002), Archaeological Survey (Manuals in Archaeological Method, Theory and Technique).
Praetzellis, A. (2003), Dug to Death: A Tale of Archaeological Method and Mayhem.
Guidi A. (2005), I metodi della ricerca archeologica, Laterza.