Practical information

Below is information on earlier and upcoming season dates, the town of Madaba and a description of the work done at the field school. There is also general information on the daily schedule, safety and weekends. 

• Season dates
• Madaba
• The work
• Other practical information

Madaba

The field school is based in Madaba, which is a town located in northern Jordan. Madaba has situated approximately 30 km from the capital, Amman. The tourist website of Madaba describes the town as “…a pleasant, relaxed, tolerant and easy-going little town well known for its Byzantine mosaic”, who are “…proud of the tolerance between both Christians and Muslims in the city.” ( http://www.visitmadaba.org/).

Madaba is visited by many tourists and the downtown area has many restaurants and cafés. The people of Madaba are welcoming and used to many different nationalities visiting the town. Furthermore, the residents of Madaba are accustomed to international archaeological projects visiting for an extended period, due to the long and important archaeological sequence of the town and its hinterland.   

There are many things to see in Madaba, such as the famous Madaba Mosaic Map located inside the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George. The mosaic map depicts cities, rivers, hills and valleys in Palestine and the Nile Delta. Other places worth visiting are Madaba’s Museum and Madaba’s Archaeological park. In the vicinity of Madaba, other well-known localities such as Mount Nebo and the Dead Sea can be visited with relative ease.

More information on Madaba can be found at the official tourist website:  http://www.visitmadaba.org/

The Work

The work at Murayghat field school is intended to provide participants with knowledge of and practical training in archaeological methods. The excavation and survey work are the main areas of work for field school participants, but it may also be possible to participate in other types of work. Some work will take place at the site and is more physically demanding (excavation and survey), while other aspects of the work are done mainly at the excavation camp (ceramics, lithics, registration, illustration and photography). The workforce is divided into several teams, who each deal with the following work areas. Students will move between these teams.

Excavation

The excavation is supervised by an experienced archaeologist, who organizes the work in the different excavation areas. Excavation will take place in several excavation trenches on the central hill. The student supervisors have previous experience with excavation and in turn organize the daily excavation work in one of the excavation trenches, leading a team of approximately three to four students.

Survey

The survey is supervised by an experienced archaeologist, who organizes the survey teams led by student supervisors. There will typically be several survey teams working either on the central hill or in the surrounding landscape. The student supervisors have previous experience with surveys and in turn, organize the daily survey work leading a team of approximately three students.

Various outside projects

Garmins, Total Station, Elevations  

Ceramics

Lithics

Registration

The registration of finds is supervised by an experienced archaeologist. The registrar is responsible for the registration of incoming finds, for organizing the initial finds processing (such as washing and packing finds) and for distributing finds to the people working with analysis. The registrar also works with the illustrator and the photographer to organize the documentation of the finds. The registrar may need assistance during the registration work and all participants at the field school project can be asked to help out. Cleaning of finds is an essential part of finds processing and is a task that participants at the field school help with each afternoon.

Illustration and photography

The work with illustration and photography is supervised by an experienced archaeologist, who organizes the work on documenting the finds coming in from the site. Participants at the field school help with the documentation and practical work related to the finds documentation. If you have special skills/interests in illustration or photography, please be sure to mention this on your application.

Other practical information

Daily Schedule

The daily work of the field school demands an early morning start to avoid working in the high temperatures that the noontime summer days of Jordan offer. Later in the day, the work will be reserved for the research station when possible.

Weekends

Due to the short duration of the excavation season, weekends are only one and a half-day long. According to local customs the weekend is held from Thursday afternoon to Friday evening. Unfortunately, the field school is not able to provide accommodations during weekends but encourages students and other participants of the field school to go explore the many sights Jordan has to offer on their own. Each weekend during the field school student supervisors will arrange trips to a tourist site and it is up to participants at the field school if they are interested in travelling with the group or going to explore on their own. In previous years, the field school weekend trips have gone to beautiful locations, such as Mount Nebo, the rose-red city of Petra (and the so-called Neolithic trail in the vicinity) and Umm ar-Rasas. One weekend is dedicated to exploring the capital city of Jordan, Amman, which is a vibrant modern city with a rich cultural life and also has many archaeological remains to offer to interested tourists.

Environment

Educational environment: In addition to being a scientific project, the Murayghat project is also an educational course in the form of a field school. There is a strong focus on the educational environment within the project as the majority of the student participants have little to no archaeological experience. It is therefore important for the project to create a comfortable learning environment where it is not only acceptable but also encouraged for the students to ask questions, seek knowledge, and thrive with their assigned work duties. This is achieved by guidance from the main staff in addition to a corpus of student supervisors present to guide and help the students with the archaeological fieldwork, afternoon work as well as the planning of weekends and other practical aspects during the stay.

Tools/Attire

The participants must provide their trowel and pickaxe in addition to work clothes. Work clothes are ideally made of light fabric (such as cotton) and must be a loose fit and cover as much of the body as possible due to cultural reasons and to avoid sun exposure. Further detailed suggestions for the tools and attire will be offered a reasonable period before the beginning of the project.

Student safety 

There is always a potential risk of unsafe situations in all archaeological projects due to the very nature of excavations. Excavations involve demanding and stressful physical work, the use of heavy tools and rough terrains that all contribute to the risk factor. Additionally, the climate in the Middle East can be harsh during the summer periods, which further increases the risk factors (see “things to consider before applying”). The Murayghat field school has several rules and guidelines that provide a safe and comfortable living and working environment for all, especially people with little to no field experience. Moreover, the project is managed by archaeologists with decades of field experience that are trained in how to direct the project safely and suitably as well as possessing a profound knowledge of the local culture and community.

The developments of recent years in the Middle East have made travel in some parts of this region troublesome or impossible. Generally, Jordan is a peaceful country and the town of Madaba is a pleasant place used by many tourists visiting the sights of the city, but please make sure to consult with the foreign travel advice of your government to see the specific advice of your country on travelling in Jordan. The participants at the field school will need to obtain their health insurance.

Fees