FIELD SCHOOL

Info and Schedule:

The excavation will take place at Crkveno brdo site, the Southern part of Pannonia, in the vicinity of today’s Senta (Serbia), from 22nd of July till 10th of August.

 Although the site was known since the end of the 19th century it became the focus of archaeological investigations only a few years ago. During the rescue excavations in 2019, a medieval settlement was investigated, while some 250 m to the SW, a church with a necropolis was detected through the geophysical survey (Špehar et al., 2021).

                                                                                                                           Photo: Dnevnik.rs

More than 50 graves discovered so far, situated around the church, contained archaeological material dating from the 11th to the 13th century, which was confirmed through C14 analysis. It seems that the settlement and the church were destroyed in the middle of the 13th century during the Mongols’ raids.

The dynamic of the course includes excavation every morning from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This gives us the opportunity to practice different techniques of excavation, documentation and analysis of various forms of burial. On the field, we will carry out all the activities in relation to mortuary archaeology, and we will learn archaeological field methodology. In the afternoon, after the lunch break, theoretical and practical courses will take place in the laboratory. Sunday is a free day reserved for excursions. On the final day, each student will show a report of excavation and present his/her findings to other students.

We prepared a variety of courses adapted to different needs and levels of knowledge (please see below):

1st week (6 days, dates: 22nd of July – 27th of July 2024) will be dedicated to human burial excavation, anatomy, taphonomy, mortuary archaeology, estimation of sex and age, calculation of preservation index and the minimum number of individuals, the basic concepts of pathology and how to make a bioarchaeological report.  

28th of July – optional excursion to nearby town Subotica (56 km or 45 minute).  The tour includes the Franciscan church of St. Michael, the City Hall, Miksha Demeter palace (the City Museum building), the Synagogue, Gymnasium, the Cathedral – Basilica of St. Teresa of Avila, the City Square, the National Theater, Raichle’s Palace and the Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension. Lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit a nearby lake with an aquapark and enjoy a movie festival, https://www.palicfilmfestival.com/. The excursion is free, but the cost of lunch is on you.

In the 2nd week (6 days, dates: 29th of July – 3rd of August, 2024), on the one hand, we will learn the same subjects as in the first week, but in a more profound way, and on the other, it introduces new topics, such as cremation techniques, working with infant remains, working with commingled bones, pathologies, as well as other tools and methods for analyzing human remains (such as DNA, isotopes, radiology, paleoparasitology, etc.). We will also learn about mortuary archaeology in an archaeological site in a more profound way (different funeral rites, the correct excavation of human remains in different contexts, types of burial, presence or absence of funeral goods, the position of the corpse, how to differentiate collective or multiple burials, excavation of catastrophes etc.).

4th of August - optional excursion to Novi Sad and Vrdnik (about 100 km from Senta or 1-1.5 hours). The tour includes a visit to the Cathedral, the Museum of Vojvodina (all located near the pedestrian zone), the Danube Park, Petrovaradin fortress. https://novisad.travel/en/petrovaradin-fortress/  Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Vrdnik, located in the national park Fruska gora, monasteries Vrdnik and Jazak, and Vrdnik’s tower. The tour ends in a thermal spa. The cost of this excursion will be 20€.

Photo: Djordje Vukojicic on Unsplash                                            Photo: Nikola Johnny Mirkovic on Unsplash

In the 3rd week (6 days, dates: 5th of August - 10th of August) we will have courses on Bioarchaeology of children, Dental anthropology and Paleopathology. We are leaving on the 11th of August.

All the courses will be accompanied by analysis of skeletal remains, excavated on the site, and the application of methods learned during the classes.  At the end of each course, you will make an anthropological report based on previously excavated findings.

Price (including 3 meals and accommodation):

1st week - regular price: 495 €

                 - returning participant*: 396 €

 

2 weeks - regular price: 945 €

                 - returning participant*: 756 €

 

3 weeks - regular price: 1285 €

                 - returning participant*: 1028 €

 

* Returning participants are those who’ve participated in our online courses or the field school once before and decided to come back again. You can apply to any of our online courses https://aitabioarch.com/category/online-courses/ and get a discount on both the selected course and the field school.

We offer the possibility to pay in installments – reserve now, pay later!

Management of the course: Aita Bioarchaeology (Barcelona, Spain) and Departmant of archaeology, University of Belgrade (Belgrade, Serbia).

Accommodation:

Beautiful 19th century ethno-house in Senta, with big garden and barbecue. Participants will stay in double rooms (2 single beds) with private bathroom, air conditioning and TV. A shared kitchen is available to guests. Laundry washing, once per week, is included in price.

Getting there:

The easiest way to get to Senta:

  1. From Belgrade - by bus from the main bus station, here you can find timetable, check departures to Senta as well to Subotica (there are more daily departures) - BAS – Beogradska autobuska stanica.
  2. From Budapest - one possibility is with organized transport by Terra travel agency to Subotica city where we will wait for you; details are on site - Bus line Belgrade-Budapest (terratravel.rs)

Important:

The costs of education, maintenance, accommodation, and insurance are included in the price and will be borne by the Organization.

The cost of arrival to Senta at the beginning of the Course is NOT included in the price. Possible visa costs for students of countries that need a visa for Serbia are also NOT included.

Currency – The currency in Serbia is Serbian Dinar (RSD). Besides the Serbian dinar, no other currency is officially accepted in Serbia, although major currencies like euros, US dollars, and pounds can easily be exchanged for dinars at bureau de change in Belgrade or Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.

Here you can find Serbian Dinar Exchange Rates - https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=EUR&To=RSD

Visa - Take note that Serbia is not part of European Union (EU), but if you are from country which is member state of EU, from Switzerland, Norway and Island you can travel with your ID card as well as with valid passport. If you are from United Kingdom or USA you can entre Serbia with your passport.

Here you can check visa issues for your country - https://www.mfa.gov.rs/en/citizens/travel-serbia, section Visa regime.