PARTNERSHIP FOR RURAL IMPROVEMENT & DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE

PRIDE

PRIDE is supported by the EU Erasmus Plus programme and is an adult education staff mobility partnership. Participants are drawn from a UK consortium of partners from (mainly) Northern England and Scotland…

WICATNational TrustWardell ArmstrongGrampus Heritage

Natural EnglandYorkshire Dales NPEarth DoctorsCrosslanes

VAR InitiativeSublime FoundationThe Environment PartnershipHayton Castle

Forestry CommissionMoorforgeWoolclip

The places are fully funded apart from getting to the UK departure point.

All the places revolve around dedicated training courses from the ‘Green Village’ suite of certified units. They were created over a 3-year period by 8 EU partners led by Grampus Heritage. All the courses carry ECVET points as well as certification for CPD.

Placement: Neolithic Archaeology. Location: Alba Iulia, Romania – 24-30thJuly 2017

Note: this placement is for those with experience of archaeological field work.

Day One – 24thJuly : Arrive in either Cluj Napoca or Sibiu depending on flight availability – a cautionary note, direct flights to Romania are most usually from Luton and even if you are from northern England or Scotland, it will be necessary to get down there. Collected by Monica and Martin and transferred to the small city of Alba Iulia (approx. 2 hours). There will be an evening social meal to get to know each other and those you work with; in charge of the dig is Mihai Gligor, PhD, of the History, Archaeology and Museology department within “1 Decembrie 1918″ University.We use a variety of small guesthouses, we will select which to use as the group takes shape. Some room sharing is usual

Day Two – 25thJuly: We join up with some University students (and perhaps their tutors) from Romania and the UK, who are working on the long-running LumeaNouă excavation; each year, a new phase is opened. An introductory talk outlines the finds to date and you visit the ceramics and bone labs plus an exhibition within the University. After lunch in the University, excavation begins. This is a good example to compare and contrast UK and Romanian site techniques, recording, etc.

Day Three – 26thJuly: A full day of excavation; under all previous situations, the site is rich in ceramics, human remains, loom weights, spindle whorls and lithic tools.

Day Four –27thJuly: A full day of excavation but in the later afternoon, there is a chance to study how Neolithic ceramics were made – make some and review some fired in a reconstructed kiln.

Day Five – 28thJuly: Fitting in with the dig, today is for some local cultural exploration – including the star-shaped late medieval fortress, local Roman remains and perhaps a nearby Saxon fortified church. We aim for a cultural meal of famous local ‘placinte’ – a filled flat-bread dish. Also a chance to walk through pristine hay meadows to a limestone bluff with associated archaeology

Day Six – 29thJuly: Today is for ‘finishing up’ your trench / section and spending time in the labs seeing how ceramics are washed and sorted prior to some reconstruction. Also the work on the skeletal remains is shown – the degree of preservation is astounding and there seems to be evidence of ritual sacrifice.

Day Seven – 30thJuly: Prior to departure we allow some time for final shopping in Alba Iulia.

LumeaNouă is a middle Neolithic to Chalcolithic (possibly Early Bronze Age) archaeological site in Alba Iulia, Romania. The site is named after the LumeaNouă district of the city. The site was first researched (and likely discovered) by Ion Berciu in the 1940s. It has been excavated by several researchers since then, most recently Mihai Gligor of the 1 Decembrie 1918 University, Alba Iulia. Cultures present at this site include Vinča (B and C), Foieni, Petrești and Coțofeni. The cultures were rich in early art, the small mask decorations and ceramic patterns are particularly notable

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