Field School students and volunteers prepare for diving operations during the 2009 Field School. Join us as we conduct maritime archaeology at the nation’s oldest port!
Information on the upcoming 2011 Field School is now online! Click here for more information on our upcoming Field School, June 6 through July 1, 2011!
The 2010 Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) Field School will be held May 31 – June 26, 2010 at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum. This comprehensive 4-week field practicum will focus on the continued excavation of an unidentified 19th-century ballast pile to make a determination whether it represents the remains of the Confederate privateer Jefferson Davis, lost on the St. Augustine bar in August 1861 after the most successful cruise of the entire war. We will also staging test excavations on a new unidentified shipwreck site discovered during last year’s survey efforts.
Students will be instructed in scientific diving procedures, archaeological recording and excavation, the use of hydraulic probes and induction dredges, marine remote sensing survey and analysis (magnetometer & side scan sonar), artifact collection and documentation, and basic conservation laboratory methodology. The field school will also host an evening lecture series featuring field school instructors and visiting professionals from various public, private, and academic institutions throughout Florida.
This year we will be offering the opportunity to participate in the two-week Module I (May 31-June 12, 2 academic credit hours), or the full four-week Field School (May 31-June 26, four academic credit hours). We encourage students serious about pursuing a career in this field to participate in the full four-week field school.
The field school fee for Module I is $700 for those seeking academic credit, and $800.00 for those who do not wish to take the course for credit. The fee for the full Field School is $1,100 for students taking this course for academic credit, and $1,300 for those who do not wish to receive course credit . This base fee includes housing, food (except on weekends when you are responsible for your own food), all diving gear (other than mask, fins, snorkels, & booties), air fills, use of LAMP’s research vessels, dive locker, classroom, and laboratory facilities, and local transportation. Graduate or undergraduate credit is available through Plymouth State University, or through your own institution if you make these arrangements, at additional expense paid directly to the school for tuition. Students must provide their own transportation to and from St. Augustine, Florida. Students must also be responsible for the required diving insurance, diving medical exam, and CPR/First Aid before the start of the course, as outlined below.
Requirements:
· Students must be scuba-certified and qualify as a scientific diver through AAUS (American Academy of Underwater Sciences) or a similar institution, or else qualify as a scientific-diver-in-training through LAMP’s scientific diver program. These requirements include a specific medical exam to be completed prior to field school, and a swim test to be conducted upon arrival. More information and downloads of the medical exam form and other required paperwork are available here.
· Please download and read this note on our diving conditions and requirements
· Students must have DAN diving accident insurance or an equivalent policy.
· Students must hold current CPR and First Aid certifications.
Sponsors
This field practicum is supported by Plymouth State University, Plymouth, New Hampshire which will offer academic credit for those who wish to receive it at their standard rates for graduate or undergraduate tuition.
Additional partnering institutions:
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
The Institute of Maritime History (IMH)
Housing
LAMP maintains a Field House on five acres of rural property just outside St. Augustine. Expect field bunkhouse/dormitory-type conditions though the house is furnished with air conditioning, two bathrooms, and a fully-operational kitchen. Some students may wish to camp on the land around the field house; if so they should bring their own tent/gear.
Meals will be communal and prepared each day by the field school participants on a rotating basis. The budget for purchasing food is derived from the field school fee charged to all students. Students are responsible for their own food on weekends.
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Download the LAMP 2010 Field School flier
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Online Application Forms
Download the application package by clicking here
Please download the application package, which consists of three one-page forms in a single Microsoft Word document. You may complete the forms digitally or else print them out and complete by hand. When finished, please send to Dr. Sam Turner by email or fax or regular mail:
Dr. Sam Turner
Director of Archaeology, LAMP
81 Lighthouse Avenue
St. Augustine, Florida 32080 USA
Fax: 904-808-1248 Phone: 904-829-0745
Participation in the Field School can be competitive depending on the numbers of applicants, which have been increasing each year. While not required, if you have a resume or vita, please include it with your application, and you may also have a letter of reference sent to us by email from a professor or employer.
If you have any other questions, please call or email Dr. Turner at sturner@staugustinelighthouse.com.
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Click here visit our Field School blog! Scroll down to see postings from 2009 and previous year’s Field Schools!
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Our primary Field School research vessels include LAMP’s newly acquired RV Desmond Valdes, and the Institute of Maritime History‘s RV Roper, pictured below:
R/V Nickerin (21′ Seaswirl Stiper) at left, and R/V Desmond Valdes (23′ Grady White, 29′ overall) at right.
The 36′ IMH research vessel Roper will be on loan to LAMP for the 2010 Field School.
Student diver recording the mystery ballast pile during the 2009 field school.
Feel free to leave any comments or questions below. We’ll do our best to post responses in a timely manner. If you are interested in participating in our field school, tell us a little about yourself below!