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By Phil Williams
phil@franklin.uga.edu
Students who choose UGA’s May term study-abroad program in Switzerland will be able to participate in a medieval banquet, explore an ancient Roman city on bicycles and learn to make their own flint tools.
The course—anthropology 3250—offers better options than the inhabitants of the area had in the Middle Ages, when young people could look forward to siege, plague, leprosy, witchcraft and war, among other things.
“The idea is to put old-world prehistory into a May term course and give students a unique opportunity to study in one of the historically richest—and most beautiful—areas in Europe,” says Ervan Garrison, professor of anthropology and geology at UGA and director of the program.
The 15–18 students selected for the program will stay in the medieval walled city of Estavayer-le-Lac near Lake Neuchâtel from May 12 to June 8. They will be housed in a restored manor house and travel to several towns and archaeological sites during the three weeks in Switzerland.
The lake district of Switzerland has a long history, from the Paleolithic period to current times. While archaeologists have found ancient rock shelters and remains of woolly mammoths there, the Roman era may be one of its most interesting periods.
The students will travel to Aventicum, founded by the emperor Augustus as the Roman capital of Helvetia. In the second century, it was home to more than 20,000 people, and a number of structures are still intact. Most impressive may be an amphitheater, which seats 8,000. Aventicum fell in 259 A.D. when it was attacked by Germanic tribes.
Participants in the program will also visit the Neolithic site of Gletterans, which was excavated 20 years ago by the archaeological service of the Swiss state of Fribourg. The original village, dating from around 3000 B.C., was reconstructed and now serves as an educational center.
“On their visit to Gletterans, the students have to make their own tools by knapping flint with an antler,” says Garrison. “And we give them a couple of stones and some moss and tell them to make a fire. It really opens their eyes to how life was in those days.”
While Garrison will accompany the students on their travels and work, he will be assisted by a number of Swiss academics, including archaeologists, art historians, museum conservators and geologists.
Garrison has conducted both underwater and terrestrial archaeological investigations beneath and around Lake Neuchâtel since 1985. Working with such groups as Earthwatch, he has added considerably to the world’s knowledge of the area.
Students who participate received six credit hours for the course and HOPE scholarships may be used. Costs are $2,950, excluding air fare and spending money. Group rates will be arranged, so transportation will be less than general commercial rates. Deadline for application is March 30. |
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