Looking for fieldwork opportunities?
Want to take part in an archaeological field school in Virginia or abroad? Whether you are an archaeology major or graduate student, a student focusing in another area, or an interested volunteer, this page gives you some resources to get you started on the search for the perfect field work experience. As a first step, however, it is recommended that you take a few minutes to fill out our Field School Self Evaluation. This will give you a better idea of how and where to find the best field school fit for you.
Resources for Finding Field Schools and Field Work
- Archaeological Institute of America and Archaeology Magazine's Interactive Digs
- Archaeological Institute of America's Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin
- Archaeology on the Net
- archaeologyfieldwork.com
- Council for British Archaeology: Fieldwork Opportunities
- Current Archaeology
- Institute for Field Research
- National Park Service Archaeology Program
- Popular Archaeology
- ShovelBums
- Society for American Archaeology Teacher Training and Field Opportunities
Sources of Fieldwork Funding for Students
- Archaeological Institute of America Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarship
- Cornell Institute od Archaeology & Material Studies
- Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) Field School Award
- Etruscan Foundation Fieldwork Fellowship
- Institute for Field Research Scholarships
Archaeology Fieldwork Funds: Interested in working in the field with a member of the UVA Archaeological faculty on one of their projects? For more information on Archaeology Fieldwork Funds, contact Tyler Jo Smith.
Local Archaeological Field Schools
Jamestown Rediscovery | Dr. William Kelso | Preservation Virginia & the University of Virginia
The field school is designed to teach the methods and theories of fieldwork in American Historical Archaeology and offers both the untrained and experienced student the opportunity to learn the practical skills of excavation and recording. It also provides an excellent educational opportunity for teachers seeking recertification in the social studies content area.
The fieldwork will be conducted at the Jamestown Rediscovery excavations on Jamestown Island, the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. Focus of the excavations will be on uncovering the recently discovered remains of the 1607 James Fort and the adjoining 1608 James Town.
In the course of excavations, students will learn to identify and interpret 17th-century European and Native American artifacts, as well as investigate features directly related to James Fort (1607-1625). This archaeological field school provides a unique opportunity for students to make a contribution to the research and interpretation of early 17th-century English-America.
The fieldwork will be conducted at the Jamestown Rediscovery excavations on Jamestown Island, the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. Focus of the excavations will be on uncovering the recently discovered remains of the 1607 James Fort and the adjoining 1608 James Town.
In the course of excavations, students will learn to identify and interpret 17th-century European and Native American artifacts, as well as investigate features directly related to James Fort (1607-1625). This archaeological field school provides a unique opportunity for students to make a contribution to the research and interpretation of early 17th-century English-America.
Monticello | Dr. Fraser D. Neiman | Monticello & the University of Virginia
The Monticello field school offers a hands-on introduction to basic excavation, recording, and laboratory techniques in archaeology. The course emphasizes a scientific, multidisciplinary approach to doing landscape archaeology. It also provides the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research into the ecological and social dynamics that unfolded on Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Plantation in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Technical topics covered include survey and excavation strategies as well as the analytical possibilities for ceramics, faunal remains, plant phytoliths and pollen, deposits and the sediments they contain, soils, and spatial distributions of artifacts across sites and larger landscapes.
Guest lecturers are drawn from a variety of disciplines including archaeology, geology, ecology, paleoethnobotany, zooarchaeology, and history. On-site instruction, lectures, and discussion sessions at Monticello will be complemented by field trips to related sites. Students will attend classes forty hours per week, with the bulk of that time spent working in the field and the lab. Reading assignments, lectures, and discussion sessions will cover both technical and historical issues.
Guest lecturers are drawn from a variety of disciplines including archaeology, geology, ecology, paleoethnobotany, zooarchaeology, and history. On-site instruction, lectures, and discussion sessions at Monticello will be complemented by field trips to related sites. Students will attend classes forty hours per week, with the bulk of that time spent working in the field and the lab. Reading assignments, lectures, and discussion sessions will cover both technical and historical issues.
Montpelier | Dr Matthew Reeves | Montpelier; James Madison University; & SUNY Plattsburgh
Montpelier has hosted field schools for two decades, with James Madison University field school starting in 1987, and from 2002 universities from the State Unviersity of New York system (formerly Potsdam, now Plattsburgh). While the field school is accredited through these schools, the Montpelier archaeology field school has been attended by students from the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Mary Washington, SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburg, Sweetbriar, Harvard, and the University of Florida.
In the 2012 field season, the field schools and Archaeology Expeditions and Excursions will be conducting an extensive archaeological investigation of the Tobacco Barn Quarter, or the homes and work areas for Montpelier's field slaves. Previous work in this area has identified work yards and features associated with the homes for the field laborers. This year we will be looking for not only evidence of the structures themselves, but also identifying the domestic and everyday material remains that will allow us to reconstruct their lifeways.
In the 2012 field season, the field schools and Archaeology Expeditions and Excursions will be conducting an extensive archaeological investigation of the Tobacco Barn Quarter, or the homes and work areas for Montpelier's field slaves. Previous work in this area has identified work yards and features associated with the homes for the field laborers. This year we will be looking for not only evidence of the structures themselves, but also identifying the domestic and everyday material remains that will allow us to reconstruct their lifeways.
Poplar Forest | Jack Gary, Director of Archaeology and Landscapes | Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest and the University of Virginia
A Unique Learning Experience at Thomas Jefferson’s Retreat
The field school provides a foundation in current methods and theories of historical archaeology, and offers a solid introduction to the practical skills of site survey, excavation, recording, and laboratory procedures. Students will also actively participate in our ongoing interpretation of archaeology to the public.
Students will spend 40 hours a week at Poplar Forest, with most of the time split between the excavation site and the archaeology laboratory. Participants will have the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art equipment and software, including a total station for recording field information, GPS receivers for collecting spatial data over large areas, a database system containing both the archaeological artifact and context records, and a complete inventory of over 1,000 historical documents relating to Poplar Forest. The program includes weekly readings on topics in historical archaeology; lectures by staff and noted authorities covering such topics as landscape history, plantation life, nineteenth-century material culture; professional opportunities in historical archaeology; and the role of public archaeology.
The field school provides a foundation in current methods and theories of historical archaeology, and offers a solid introduction to the practical skills of site survey, excavation, recording, and laboratory procedures. Students will also actively participate in our ongoing interpretation of archaeology to the public.
Students will spend 40 hours a week at Poplar Forest, with most of the time split between the excavation site and the archaeology laboratory. Participants will have the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art equipment and software, including a total station for recording field information, GPS receivers for collecting spatial data over large areas, a database system containing both the archaeological artifact and context records, and a complete inventory of over 1,000 historical documents relating to Poplar Forest. The program includes weekly readings on topics in historical archaeology; lectures by staff and noted authorities covering such topics as landscape history, plantation life, nineteenth-century material culture; professional opportunities in historical archaeology; and the role of public archaeology.