San Giuliano, Italy

Location: San Giuliano, Italy

Semester: Summer 2024

Course Code: ART 338 – 6 credits

Course Information: ART 338 – 6 credits (Option of course substitution of three credits for either CON 399 or IS 399. With proper approval from advisor and Assistant Provost.)

Lead Faculty: Dr. Candace Livingston

Course Title: Field School in Archaeology

Course Description: Research conducted by this archaeological field school program will target the rich archaeological past of San Giuliano, a site located approximately one hour north of Rome in the Lazio province of Italy. Situated atop a plateau of volcanic tuff, San Giuliano is best known for the hundreds, if not thousands, of Etruscan tombs cut into the sides of the surrounding escarpments. The tombs indicate the site’s importance in the Etruscan period (900-300 BC), but tantalizing loose finds suggest an occupation dating back to the Late Bronze and Early Iron ages (1300-900 BC). San Giuliano occupied a strategic location in relation to Rome and its hinterlands and the site was part of territory incorporated by the expanding Roman state on route to becoming an empire. The site remained important into the Middle Ages, before finally being abandoned sometime near the end of the twelfth century AD. Standing ruins of a Roman bath and a medieval church and fortified keep suggest that people lived, worked, and engaged in civic-ceremonial activities atop the plateau. The plateau thus constitutes a “city of the living” to complement the necropolis, or “city of the dead” in the tombs below. While portions of a medieval castle and fortification were revealed in the 2016-2019 excavations, the houses and buildings of the medieval town or any earlier settlements remain as-yet undiscovered.

The goal of the San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project (SGARP) is to find the settlement and explore its associated necropolis, studying how the inhabitants lived, died, and were buried at the site. On a broader scale, the project aims to understand San Giuliano’s changing fortunes in relation to super- regional political and economic relationships. What factors led to the stability of the site from the Bronze Age, through the Etruscan flowering, the Roman luxury, and the medieval fortified town? Why, after nearly two and a half millennia of occupation, was the site permanently abandoned at the end of the Middle Ages?

Tentative Travel Dates: May 29-July 8, 2024 (Actual dates: TBA) 

Estimated Cost: TBD

Housing/Accommodations: Private villa

Contact: clivingston@andersonuniversity.edu or studyabroad@andersonuniversity.edu for more information

Eligibility Requirements: No prerequisites. GPA of 2.5 or higher, approval by advisor, and faculty program lead.

Scholarship Eligibility: Students can use federal aid for program if eligible. This includes student loans and parent loans. Students cannot use Anderson University institutional aid for this program. The AU Abroad scholarship cannot be used for this course.

Payment: Date of deadline for payment is TBA. Students who are receiving financial aid must meet with the Center for Global Engagement and complete a deferment agreement. This agreement is to be approved by Anderson Central. Estimated cost listed does not include six credits of tuition and fees. It also does not include flights.

Flights: Students should coordinate with faculty to schedule flights if they wish to travel together with the faculty member or as a group. Students must provide their own transportation to the airport upon departure and return from the program.