How to Apply

Who can apply?

Anyone interested can apply to join the field school at Murayghat. You do not need previous archaeological experience, as the field school provides the opportunity to learn about excavation and survey methods, but the project is perfect for BA or MA students of archaeology, who want to work in the Middle East.

What should the application contain?

For the project to consider your application to join the field school, it must contain certain basic information. The application should contain a name, age, address and current country of residence. Furthermore, the application should include a curriculum vitae and a motivated application, explaining your reasons for wanting to join the field school. Please make sure to note which work areas you would like to contribute to at the field school and any skills you might have that relate to these work areas. The motivating application should be no more than one A4 page.

Besides a motivated application and curriculum vitae, the application could also contain a letter of recommendation (from the university supervisor)

Things to consider before applying

There are some issues to consider before applying to the field school, such as the nature of the work and the temperatures of Jordan. The excavation work is hard manual labour and the survey work is done in a rocky landscape with steep hills. Both the excavation and the survey work thus require the participant to be in good physical condition. During the field season (May-June) temperatures reach up to 26-28 degrees °C (i.e. 78.8-82.4 °F) and during these months Jordan has an average of 10-12 hours of sun per. day. The lowest average temperatures are 13-17°C (i.e. 57-63°F). There is not much natural shade at Murayghat, as the site consists of a central hilltop with surrounding hills and vegetation is too low and too sparse to provide shade. However, anyone who can work hard in high temperatures is in for an archaeological experience of a lifetime!

Deadline

The next deadline for applications to the Murayghat field school will soon be announced.

Participate in the Murayghat Project as part of your academic education

Guest and exchange students

Guest and exchange students have the opportunity to take the field school as an academic course providing practical field experience (7.5 ECTS credits) as offered by the University of Copenhagen – The Department of Cross-cultural and Regional research. The course is part of the Near Eastern Archaeology BA program.

The course provides the student with:

Knowledge on:

Excavation and surveying techniques that enable the student to participate in other archaeological expeditions
The working environment of an excavation project
Insight into the administrative conditions of a project conducted in a foreign country
The local customs and traditions in Jordan

Skills in:

The practical use of excavation- and survey techniques
Handling, analyzing and understanding cultural objects in their historical, archaeological and material context
Scientific drawings of archaeological contexts and cultural objects
Archaeological photography and the importance of conveying knowledge by imagery
The use of GPS for survey

Competences to:

Collaborate with other archaeologists in an academic environment
Participate in an analytic dialogue and discussion with other team members and supervisors
Comprehend different cultures and questions of cultural heritage
Demonstrate adequate behaviour in different cultural spheres
Working under pressure in a demanding work environment
Living in modest field conditions

The course concludes with a short report that is to be submitted after the conclusion of the fieldwork.

An introductory course leading up to the field school is also offered by the University of Copenhagen. The course (Near Eastern Archaeological Practice 1a) is offered during the spring semester (always ending before the field school) for 7.5 ECTS credits. The introductory course can be combined with the field school for a total of 15 ECTS credits. The introductory course provides the students with a theoretical, methodological and empirical framework from which they can understand and conduct archaeology.

Students at the University of Copenhagen:

Students at the University of Copenhagen have the chance to participate in the Murayghat project. An Introductory course, with the field school as a part of the exam, is offered as a tilvalg course (Archaeological Practice 1) equivalent to 15 ECTS credits during the spring semester. The course provides the students with deep empirical knowledge about the theoretical, methodological and practical procedures of conducting archaeology in the Middle East. The combination of the introductory course and field school provides the student with: