LYCOMING COLLEGE
program in
ARCHAEOLOGY AND
CULTURE OF THE
ANCIENT NEAR EAST
an interdisciplinary major
(formerly "Near Eastern Culture and Archaeology")
Program
Requirements (as listed in the Lycoming College
Catalogue,
2006-2007)
Program Coordinator: Robin J.
DeWitt Knauth
Dig Coordinator: Steven
R. Johnson
What's going on
this fall in the Archaeology Program? Click here for
Rel-Events!
Find out ...who we are...
click here for the Archaeology program directory!
Why Archaeology?
TRAVEL!
Students will have opportunities for travel, spending part of a summer or May term traveling in the Middle East or Europe, visiting museums and ancient sites, and observing aspects of the various cultures.
· Faculty-guided study tours in the Near East will be conducted in conjunction with summer dig projects during the May or summer terms.
· Students may also elect to participate in other organized programs such as at Jerusalem University College (formerly the Institute for Holy Land Studies) in Jerusalem, or seminars and study tours organized by the Biblical Archaeology Society.
·
Students will also have opportunity for independent travel, and
Lycoming will assist students as they plan for a specialized travel project
which will meet their academic needs and be financially feasible.
· Students can obtain academic credit for special study projects relating to any aspect of Near Eastern, Classical or Greco-Roman study done in conjunction with such travel.
·
In cooperation with the Lycoming College Study
Abroad Program (Barbara Buedel faculty advisor), students may also arrange to spend a
semester of study abroad in the Middle East, Greece, or other places (such as
London, where the resources available for Near Eastern study are exceptional).
A vital component to the major is the opportunity for
students to participate in archaeological fieldwork at an archaeological excavation in the Near East,
conducted under the supervision of leading Near Eastern archaeologists.
Participation in a dig provides a unique opportunity for on-site field
experience in archaeological methods and analysis.
·
Faculty-led participation in major excavation projects are planned
on a regular basis.
Possible dig sites in Israel include
Ashkelon (1999), Megiddo (Summer 2000),
Bethsaida, Sepphoris, Tel
Rehov, Cyprus
(summers of 2001-2005), Gezer (summers of 2006-2007), and others. Contact our Dig Coordinator Steven Johnson for more
information!
· Nine in Cyprus for Summer 2004: In 2001 we had 5 students with professor Steve Johnson digging up a Hellenistic sanctuary and residential/industrial complex with the University of Arizona at Idalion in Cyprus, and a 6th student digging with Davidson College at the Athienou Archaeological Project in Cyprus - on full scholarship from the National Science Foundation, all expenses paid! The dig was so impressed with our hard-working field school students that several were invited back as supervisors for the next year, expenses paid! Click here for some great pix! Or ask one of the participants for a first-hand account of the experience! Now it's officially Lycoming's dig, and we had seven signed on to dig in Cyprus in 2003, and another seven Lyco students this past summer (2004) as well, with two more returning in supervisory roles!
· Students may also elect to participate independently in other digs that better match their interests, such as the Penn State dig at Mendes, Egypt, directed by eminent Egyptologist Dr. Donald Redford (dbr3@psu.edu). One of our students dug with Redford in Egypt this summer!
· Local Williamsport archeologist James Bressler (R.P.A.) conducts student internships based on local excavations, giving students on-site personal instruction in excavation techniques, analysis of finds, labeling and cataloguing, and display in the Lycoming County Historical Museum in Williamsport.
. In May 2004, Lycoming College students participated in a local dig at Canfield Island (Riverfront Park) in Williamsport in cooperation with the Lycoming County Historical Museum and the North-Central Chapter of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology. Robin Van Auken taught the May Term course as "Introduction to North American Archeology" (HIST 258). In May 2004, she taught "Methods in American Archaeology" (HIST 259), incorporating a series of practical labs and digging locally at the Snyder Site and the Thomas Lightfoote Inn. She is both May and Summer term courses in 2005; the summer course is HIST 259 and the field school will work with the Muncy Historical Society on the Pennsylvania Canal.
·
This is an opportunity to get hands-on experience doing
archaeological fieldwork in Israel or at home.
·
Find out MORE
about the possibilities!
Explore the
fascinating ancient cultural origins of our civilization while developing
diverse skills from a variety of disciplines which will be useful in any
field! The Program in Ancient Near Eastern Culture and
Archaeology is designed to acquaint the student with the “cradle of Western
Civilization” using a combination of course work, travel or study in the Near
East, participation in archaeological excavation, and individualized projects.
The major sets itself apart with its multi-disciplinary approach to the
study of Western cultural origins. The
many dimensions of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern cultures are explored with
the contributions of professors in the fields of Anthropology, Art, Economics, Geology,
German, Koine Greek, Hebrew, History, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science,
Psychology, and Religion. Combining
the resources of these several contributing
departments and faculty
creates an extremely rich
program of study, as well as providing the flexibility and opportunity within a
structured program for a student to pursue diverse interests.
~ Does your career lie in ruins? ~
Recent graduates from the program in Near Eastern Culture
and Archaeology have gone on to careers in academia, museum work, journalism,
artistic work, religious/pastoral work, National Park Service program work, and
even positions as local “city archaeologists.”
However, within a liberal arts program, the Archaeology major develops
valuable skills in analysis, use of evidence, writing, history, culture and
language that will be useful in most any career – as many of our other
graduates have discovered.
Archaeology is an ideal
major to prepare you for just about anything. If you
major in something that interests you - in something that you love - then
you will work harder at it and will do well. This is what future employers
will look for. Plus you will gain valuable skills in analysis, putting
together concrete facts with historical background with various theories to
argue for particular solutions to larger problems. Making connections
between different fields of knowledge is another valuable skill developed by the
inter-disciplinary nature of the program. An Archaeology major within a
general Liberal Arts education is great preparation for anything!
Discover some Career Options for Archaeology Majors!
away we go!
Students will have opportunity to gain hands-on work experience by participating in internship programs, either with a local archaeologist (through the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, or as listed above), with a local historical museum (such as the Lycoming County Historical Museum in Williamsport), or with other major historical museums, art museums having more extensive Classical or Ancient Near Eastern collections, or museums of natural history or anthropology.
The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission runs a Summer Internship Program, with locations in Harrisburg (the State Museum and Commission Headquarters), Ambridge, Birdsboro, Chadds Ford, Ephrata, Erie, Galeton, Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Strasburg, Washington Crossing, Weatherly, Womelsdorf, and many others. Possible subject areas include Collections Management, Curator in Archaeology or Zoology/Botany, Field Curator, Exhibitions, Museum Education, Archives, Conservation, Historic Preservation, Publications, History Division - Library, and Marketing, among others.
Find out more! For more info on possible
internships click >*HERE*< for some
great ideas, and visit
the Career Development
Center.
CAMPUS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Qualified students will also have opportunity to gain hands-on work experience on campus through the work-study program in various positions sponsored by the Religion Department, the Academic Resource Center, Snowden Library and elsewhere. Click HERE for some great ideas!
DEPARTMENTAL PRIZES AND AWARDS
Hard work is definitely rewarded! Click HERE to find out more about special opportunities for our outstanding students, including the recently established Faculty Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement in Religion and Archaeology, and Eduardo Guerra Prize in Biblical Languages!
FACILITIES
The Academic Center at Lycoming College includes an Archaeology Lab containing an extensive collection of full-color slides, samples of pottery from all major historical periods, a number of large-size maps of the ancient Near East, and many other resources. The John G. Snowden Memorial Library, among other Archaeology related resources (e.g. in Art, History and Religion), also has a wonderful collection of ancient Near Eastern pottery and other archaeological artifacts which are on display with explanatory notes, including bowls, juglets, oil lamps, and Egyptian scarabs. Our slide collection is currently being scanned and catalogued as a web-based study collection to be accessible to students. Lycoming students also have on-line access to the ATLA Religion Index (the best index of journal articles and other research materials in the area of Religion, including Archaeological material for the ancient Near East):
ATLAReligion through FirstSearch http://www.lycoming.edu/library/firstsearch/index.htm
LOCATION
Located in beautiful, historic
Williamsport on the Susquehanna River in north central Pennsylvania, Lycoming
College offers a quality liberal arts education in an idyllic setting close to a
wide variety of recreational resources. Its
original founding in 1812 makes it one of the 50 oldest educational institutions
in America. Its ample 35 acre
campus offers the best in residential, recreational and educational facilities,
including an up-to-date computer capacity which connects students to all of the
resources of the internet and the world wide web as well as to an extensive
in-college network. With a
dedicated faculty of 115 serving a student body of 1500, Lycoming College values
small class sizes that allow more personal attention and interaction for the
students, along with opportunities for upper-class seminars, independent study
projects under individual faculty guidance, and practical internship experiences
of various sorts.
“What do these stones mean?” –Joshua 4:21
Archaeologists are the “sleuths of antiquity” who discover the treasures of history buried in the dust of centuries, searching out the ancient origins of culture, and “digging up the Bible”!
Although the main emphasis of our current program is the Ancient Near East, mainly encompassing Egypt, Syria-Palestine and Mesopotamia during the Old Testament period (roughly 3000 BCE to 330 BCE), there are also significant resources available for those more interested in Classical or Greco-Roman Archaeology, or even American Archaeology.
Some other interesting Archaeology/ANE links:
Last updated May 18, 2007
For more information contact:
Robin J. DeWitt Knauth at (570)321-4298, knauth@lycoming.edu
Steven R. Johnson at (570)321-4283,
johnson@lycoming.edu
Or visit the Lycoming College web site at:
Advisory Committee: Knauth, Johnson, Piper, Golahny
Archaeology home page Archaeology Program Requirements (catalogue entry)
Religion Department home page Lycoming College Catalogue (Religion Section)