As the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens approach, people from Kalamazoo to Katmandu are refocusing on the ancient world as never before. Images of the Parthenon and Mycenaean masks appear in print ads, movies are set in ancient Rome and Jerusalem, and documentaries are full of aqueducts, pyramids and Persians. Antiquity is “in.” Our expanded Digs 2004 list offers you a first-hand view.
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If your interest is the ancient Greek world, you might excavate the ruins of Athens’s fifth-century B.C. agora (central marketplace), survey a Mycenaean palace in Pylos on the Greek Peloponnesus, or uncover the ruins of a Hellenistic city in Italy. Or, if you prefer late antiquity, you might travel to the distant outposts of the Roman empire, excavating early Christian graves in Portugal, a sanctuary in France, an Iberian Roman forum, houses in Austria, or a Roman fort on the banks of the Danube.
In Jordan, this year’s excavations promise a welcome refuge from the winds of strife. You can work on both Bronze Age tombs and a Byzantine church at Ya’amun, an ancient Moabite temple at Khirbat al-Mudayna, or the Temple of the Winged Lions in the rose-colored canyons of Petra. (Don’t forget to check out volunteer opportunities at many other Jordanian and Israeli sites in the January/February 2004 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.)
More adventurous volunteers can head for Kazakhstan, with its unique Bronze Age settlements and rock art.
If you’re drawn to mankind’s early history, why not investigate the remains of prehistoric peoples who once lived in Spain and on the island of Mallorca, as well as those who inhabited underground chambers in Cyprus and buried their dead in a cave in southern Belgium?
Or perhaps your penchant is for more northerly climes, and an English-speaking country. Our dig chart lists five fascinating British digs, exploring everything from Roman forts, villas and farmsteads to bustling towns.
And, last, for those of you who want to keep your hands clean, we’ve included information on several study-abroad programs that don’t involve field work. There’s more than one way to go for archaeological gold!
As the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens approach, people from Kalamazoo to Katmandu are refocusing on the ancient world as never before. Images of the Parthenon and Mycenaean masks appear in print ads, movies are set in ancient Rome and Jerusalem, and documentaries are full of aqueducts, pyramids and Persians. Antiquity is “in.” Our expanded Digs 2004 list offers you a first-hand view. 050 If your interest is the ancient Greek world, you might excavate the ruins of Athens’s fifth-century B.C. agora (central marketplace), survey a Mycenaean palace in Pylos on the Greek Peloponnesus, or uncover the ruins […]
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