Details about the Course

General Description:The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the College of William and Mary offer two sessions of a five-week field school in historical archaeology between June and August. This year’s excavation will take place on the College of William and Mary’s Historic Campus, in view of students and the visiting public. Participants receive a thorough instruction in the field and laboratory techniques of historical archaeology, as well as the basic skills of public interpretation, identifying colonial-period artifacts, and analyzing faunal materials. Opportunities for more advanced experience with computer-aided design and mapping, stratigraphic interpretation, and archaeological conservation may be available.

Course Details: The field school is offered through the Anthropology Department at the College of William and Mary. There are no prerequisites for the basic archaeological field school course (ANTH225). Students who have never taken a field school should register for this class. Those who have taken a field school, either at William and Mary or elsewhere, and want additional experience should enroll in ANTH425. Both courses meet Monday-Friday for five weeks (8:30 – 4:30) and carry six semester credits.

Students are graded on field and lab performance, and public interpretation, all of which will be evaluated largely in terms of participation and improvement. In addition to field work students will read several articles per week on various aspects of archaeology and archaeological conservation.

Undergraduate tuition for summer 2011 at William and Mary is $260 per credit hour for Virginia residents and $920 per credit hour for non-residents.  Participants are responsible for room and board, but the College offers dormitory housing during the summer; for more information, contact the College of William and Mary at www.wm.edu/registrar/.

For More Information

For more information about the project, contact:
Mark Kostro, Department of Architectural and Archaeological Research
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776
Phone: 757-220-7952
E-mail: mkostro@cwf.org

Registration materials will be available in mid-March 2011. For more information about registration procedures, contact:
Registrar’s Office
College of William and Mary
www.wm.edu/registrar
Phone: 757-221-2800
FAX: 757-221-2151
E-mail: registrar@wm.edu

For housing information, contact:
Office of Residence Life
College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, VA 23186
Phone: 757-221-4314
FAX: 757-221-1240
E-mail: living@wm.edu
Tuition and dormitory housing rates are subject to change.