The Vicus at the 2014 AIA Conference in Chicago

Hope you're staying to the end, because we're going to be at Session 7D: Fieldwork in Italy, Sunday the 5th from 8:30 am - 11:30 am.

See you there!

2013 Dates!

We've settled on the dates for next year's season: 9 June - 6 July. A bit earlier than last year, but that was a late one. As usual, students pick three weeks in there (or come for all four!), and visitors can have their choice.

See the website for more details.

A presto!

The Vicus at the AIA

At this year's AIA conference in Seattle, WA, I'll be reporting on last season's results in the session "Rome and its Environs", on Saturday, January 5, 2:45 pm - 5:15 pm. See you there!

Changes to the blog

I've been thinking for a bit about the name of this blog. When I started it, I connected it closely to my home institution, Drew University, and not to the site itself. In part this was because I wasn't sure how long the work would go on at the site, and in part because I expected the associated field school to be mainly populated by Drew students.

Well, the project is entering its sixth year (Yay!) and more than half of our students have not been from Drew and the site should be known for itself.

So it seems to make sense to re-name the blog and re-write its description to better reflect the current reality. I've decided to use a nice, short name for the URL, vicusmartis, and to keep the blog named according to the various inscriptions that appear in the church of S. Maria in Pantano and its tower, Vicus Martis Tudertium.

And there it is.

2012 Season Tuition Set

I'm happy to announce that we've been able to maintain tuition for this year's Vicus ad Martis field school at the same level as last year. Students will be able to earn 4 credits at the undergraduate level (or 3 at the graduate) for $3,500. This includes three weeks of room and board and local travel with the group to visit nearby sites.

Applications are being accepted on-line until April 16 at the Drew Off-Campus office. Please don't delay, if you know you're coming. This will help us to make some of the logistical arrangements in Italy. We're looking at a potentially larger crew than usual, and the sooner we have an idea of the exact number, the better.

Recently graduated high-school seniors - those entering college in the fall - are also welcome, and our Visitors program also allows (older) non-students to join us for periods as short as a week.

I just updated the project website with the tuition info (and a new front-page photo!).

Buona Domenica! (Happy Sunday!)

PS How's everyone like the new blog layout? I took one of my favorite Massa Martana photos and played around a bit with the fonts and header.

Field School Dates Confirmed for Vicus ad Martis Tudertium 2012 Season

After much to'ing-and-fro'ing to make sure that I didn't miss out on my daughter's high-school graduation, we've settled on our dates for the 2012 season, our fifth, at the Vicus ad Martis Tudertium site:

24 June - 21 July, 2012

Those include the initial Sunday and final Saturday to make sure that everyone realizes they have to get to Italy the day before we actually get our hands dirty and that the last Friday is a workday. As usual I'll be there a few days earlier to get things set up.

Interested in attending? Check out the project website. And don't forget that you don't have to be a student to join us! Adult participants are welcome to come for a week or more. Contact me for details or see the Visitors section of the website..

Oh, and we've got a nifty flier for this year too, as you can see.

Getting ready for next year

Yep, we're already working on next summer's season and part of that involves publicizing the field school. Our off-campus office here at Drew just got the Vicus ad Martis project listed on the Study Abroad website. Check it out!

Dig website updated!

Phew. Finally got around to updating the dig website. I got inspired by the great photos by our friend Wendy Robinson, as well as the possibilities offered by Apple's nice website-creation software, iWeb. Expect to see some more updates in coming weeks, including a "testimonials" section by dig alumni. (You have been warned!)

Feedback always welcome, of course.

Report on 2010 Season

The report on the 2010 season has just been published in the FastiOnline FOLD&R series. Knock yourself out.

Closing Conference

An afternoon "Seminario di Studio" at the lovely San Pietro Sopra le Acque is scheduled for tomorrow July 13th, at 3:30 pm. Non mancare! This will substitute for the usual press conference.

Three weeks already?!?

That was fast!
By now all five of our first-session participants should be home or on their way. The second session is well under way and we'll have a few goodies to report soon. (Sorry, first-session gang, but that's how it goes!) The recent heat has receded somewhat. We got a brief rain shower yesterday and a bit of thunder late today, though no rain in the immediate vicinity.
Thanks again to Amanda, Alexa, Angie, Katelynn, and Michelle for all their hard work!

Summer finalized!

Met today to finalize dates, cost and promo meeting at Drew for this summer's dig session. Sign up now!

Now in AFOB

Just posted the details for this season's field school at the AIA's Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin. More announcements coming.

Now on Twitter!

Since I've started using Twitter, I figured I would try to get this blog hooked up with it. So from now on, when I use the word "twitter" in a post, that should get it tweeted.

We'll see. :-)

Update: And it works!

2011 Umbria Field School Info Session at Drew

Drew students and others in northern NJ can get some preliminary info on the Summer 2011 season at a short info session this coming Monday, December 6, at 4:30 p.m. in Brothers College 215.

More details (and a downloadable calendar link) on the Drew website here.

See you there!

Second Session Ends!

Another three weeks have gone by, another couple of visitors in the trenches, a whole bunch of soil excavated, a mess of coins and a few other very interesting finds. It's just me left in Massa Martana now, as Sarah and the students have gone down to Rome (Scott should be on the plane as I write this).
Lots of work to do to close up the site and get the finds catalogued and stored until next year, so more soon! At right the official (for what that's worth) end-of-session photo.

VideoBlogging?

Thought I'd give it a try. After much fussing with iMovie, here's my first attempt:

Deadline extended!

The official deadline for dig applications in now March 31st. Don't wait! We've got a good group coming and would love some more.

Dates for 2010

We're extending our season a bit this year, to six weeks from four, and splitting into two three-week sessions. The dates will be 6 June to 17 July.

End-of-Dig Press Conference

In case you're in the area...