UW student Meghan Grizzle recently took the opportunity to travel to Croatia with the 2015 Archaeological Field School from June 25 to July 20.
The UW course provided students with archaeological field methods training experience as well as an introduction to the prehistory and history of south-central Europe.
Grizzle, an anthropology major with a minor in museum studies, said she the field school enticed her because of her interest in the course subject matter.
“I was interested in the 2015 Croatia Field School because I have a love for classical archaeology,” Grizzle said. “All three sites that we have worked at interested me in a different way – Lim, Viničica and Baračeve.”
Grizzle said the overall goal of the field school was to allow anthropology students to learn the techniques and procedures of an archaeological excavation. She added that another goal for the field school was for the students to try and interpret the culture of the time periods of each excavation in their own way.
Grizzle also said the field school experience exceeded her expectations.
“I did not expect to grow to love Croatia and the individuals I worked with,” she said. “I can easily say, I made lifelong friends.”
“You experience an entirely different culture than what you are used to. As an anthropology major, this is a wonderful experience because we are constantly studying different cultures and trying to immerse ourselves in them.”
Grizzle added that UW faculty involved in the field school contributed greatly to her positive experience.
“The UW professors that I had the privilege to work with, Jim Ahearn and Rick Weathermon, were absolutely amazing and made this experience 100 times better than what I thought it was going to be,” Grizzle said. “If anyone has the chance to work with them, they will be blown away. Who you work with, makes the experience that much more incredible.”
