Doing Archaeology
Prehistoric and Historic Archaeology Field Experiences at Muhlenberg: Belarus& Emmaus

Belarus
For the last ten years, Professor Walt Tremer of Muhlenberg College, Belarussian archaeologist Valentina Vyargei, and students of the Sociology & Anthropology Department have been working as part of a joint U.S.-Belarussion excavation of an Iron Age archaeological site in southern Belarus. Fieldworkers from Muhlenberg College and the Institute of History in Minsk have uncovered several 4th century villages, enabling them to study house patterns, smelting ovens, burial mounds and scores of Iron Age artifacts.

Students from Muhlenberg take part in the Belarussian dig each summer for a course credit in Field Archaeology. The dig gives students hands-on experience through a unique fieldwork opportunity that enables Muhlenberg students to work alongside Belarussian students, recovering and reconstructing the past history of the Slovenic culture.

Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Beginning in 2003, the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Muhlenberg College has been conducting excavations at an 1803 homestead site in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The dig is being conducted on commission from Lower Macungie Township. As part of this field experience, students are conducting surveys of the homestead area in order to locate related buildings on the site. Artifacts have been excavated, and are being analyzed in order to reconstruct typical farm life in the early 1800's.