The Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) is pleased to announce our Summer 2011 Field School. This year the field school will be held from June 6 – July 1, 2011 at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, St. Augustine, Florida. This comprehensive 4-week practicum will focus on the continued excavation of an 18th century shipwreck. Discovered in 2009, excavations began on this wreck site began during the summer of 2010. Artifacts recovered from this site indicate that is is a late 18th century wreck of unknown origin. Recent discoveries include hardware and rigging components, navigational and carpentry tools, a series of cast-iron and copper cauldrons, a small flintlock pistol, four cannons, and the ship’s bell. This summer’s activities will include mapping, recording, and excavating an area adjacent to the 2010 excavation units. Students will work alongside instructors to record and recover artifacts associated with this wreck, including the planned raising of at least one cannon.
Field school diver recording a large cauldron during the 2010 field school.
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 with field school instructors and visiting professionals from various public, private, and academic institutions throughout Florida.
Short video with footage taken during the 2010 Field School, including comments from some of last year’s students: “What to expect? Expect early mornings, lots of hard work, but a ton of fun, and something you’ll never, ever forget.”
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 (see below).
Additional partnering institutions:
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
The Institute of Maritime History (IMH)
The 36′ IMH research vessel Roper will be the primary work platform for the 2011 Field School.
Housing
LAMP maintains a Field House on five acres of rural property just outside St. Augustine. Expect dormitory-type conditions though the house is furnished with air conditioning, two bathrooms, and a fully-operational kitchen. Students should provide their own bedding (sheets, pillow, blanket, etc). If students wish to camp on the land around the field house they should bring their own tent/gear.
Meals will be communal and prepared each day by the field school participants on a rotating basis. Each student will be assigned to a weekly KP roster. 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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Online Application Forms and Fees
Download the application package by clicking here
The fee for the field school is $2,200 for students seeking academic credit and $2,500 for students not seeking credit. This fee is payable to LAMP, and a $250 deposit is due upon acceptance to the Field School, with the remainder due the first day of class. This 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, and the use of LAMP’s research vessels, dive locker, classroom, and laboratory facilities. The deposit and remaining balance may be paid with check or credit card. 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. Plymouth State University tuition costs are as follows:
Undergraduate In-state (New Hampshire): $320 per credit hour
Undergraduate Out-of-state: $350 per credit hour
Graduate In-state: $493 per credit hour
Graduate Out-of-state: $539 per credit hour
Students may receive four credit hours for the four full weeks of field school. Tuition must be paid separately through PSU or the university issuing credit, and the tuition cost is separate from the Field School fee payable to LAMP.
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.
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 2010 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:
Work carried out during the 2010 LAMP Field School.