Archaeological fieldwork

As a department we are happy to organise archaeological fieldwork experiences for those who are interested. Once students arrive at Warwick, they can contact Trevor Van DammeLink opens in a new window for placement opportunties, or respond to the emails sent from both staff and current students about opporunities throughout the year.

Students from the University of Warwick standing in front of a Greek temple in the Athenian Agora.

The department currently offers CX386-15: Archaeological Fieldwork ModuleLink opens in a new window, an intensive hands-on learning experience that provides training in contemporary archaeological methods for students in their final year of study. This is a unique opportunity for students to work one-on-one with a Warwick staff member and to engage with a global community of field-leading material culture specialists. Currently, this module takes place in Athens (Greece) during September.

A pencil drawing of a Greek vase on graph paper.

In addition, there are opportunities for students to participate in the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological ProjectLink opens in a new window, co-directed by Trevor Van Damme at the site of ancient Eleon (Greece) and the ongoing excavation project at Genainville (France), with which the department has a long-standing relationship.

Undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in material and visual culture studies are also encouraged to consider the study courses offered each spring and summer through the British School at AthensLink opens in a new window and the British School at RomeLink opens in a new window.

Recent student experiences

Murray Silk, Les Vaux de la Celle, Genainville (France), June 2024

In the summer of my first year, I had the opportunity to go to France for three weeks with the University of Cergy to take part in the excavations and field school at Les Vaux de la Celle in Genainville along with two other students from Warwick and a number from across the universities of France. This was my first opportunity to engage in any archaeological fieldwork, and it was amazing!

An archaeological trench with volunteers moving earth and recording finds.

The site at Genainville is a former Roman city, founded in the 2nd century CE and occupied until the late 4th century. Before its Roman occupation, the site was used as a necropolis, with 70+ tombs lying below the Roman settlement layer. The field school in 2024 was completing excavations of the stage building of a large Roman theatre on the site, identifying the lowest occupation level and attempting to establish a date for the site’s abandonment. Other features on the site include a number of houses and a double temple complex dedicated to Mercury and Rosmerta, a Gallo-Roman god. Excavations have been ongoing since 1935, when the site was first rediscovered.

An archaeological photo board and north arrow placed for photography on a background of soil.

Whilst there, we took part in several parts of the excavation process, ranging from excavating in the trenches, to recording findspots using a dumpy level, to cleaning and cataloguing the various finds to be sent off for further study, or storage on-site. Despite the language barrier, we were able to learn a lot about the process of excavation and what follows it. An additional challenge presented to us was that, in several areas of the site, previous trenches had been dug and filled in during past excavations, meaning that we had to be aware of disturbances to the context (for example, the shotgun shell I found on one day is certainly more modern than the Roman period!).

We also had the chance for several activities during our days off, including visits to the local archaeological museum and the house and gardens of Claude Monet, and a very fun ‘site Olympics’ featuring a wheelbarrow race, darts, and more.

I’m very grateful to Dr Vivien Barrière and the rest of the team at CY Cergy University for this wonderful opportunity to learn new skills, and to Prof. Suzanne Frey-Kupper at Warwick for helping to arrange this opportunity for us to go to France and learn archaeological skills first-hand.