Graduate European Archaeology Skills Exchange (GrEASE) - 2008

Graduate European Archaeology Skills Exchange (GrEASE) 2008

Grampus have been promoters of the Leonardo da Vinci project 'Excavation Centred Training in European Archaeology' (ECTEA) since the year 2000. This very successful project, written and managed by Grampus and funded by the Leonardo programme, enabled us to fund over 80 archaeology students from the UK to join a range of excavations across Europe.

In 2003, encourage by the success of the ECTEA project, Grampus and our European archaeology partners designed and submitted the GrEASE project. This was a response to high level of interest from final year archaeology undergraduates and recent graduates who were keen to take part in these placements in order to gain more practical fieldwork experience. We are pleased to be able to offer GrEASE placements once again for recent archaeology graduates in 2008.

Recent archaeology graduates and final year students from across the UK are welcome to apply by completing the application form and returning it by post to Grampus. Please read and complete the application carefully. There is no strict deadline for submitting applications for this project. We are receiving applications for these placements now and we review these and allocate places to successful applicants on a regular basis. The website will be updated as placements are filled. Why not e.mail us to express your interest or call us on 016973 21516 to discuss the availability of placements.

The funding for this project will cover travel (return from a major UK airport designated by Grampus), insurance and accommodation (basic and arranged by host partners). Participants will be expected to buy their own food on a self-catering basis. The flights and insurance are booked by Grampus in the UK and tickets are then posted out to participants. Where participants are travelling from Northern Ireland, Grampus will endeavour to arrange the necessary connecting flights.

All applicants should be aware that they are joining excavations planned and managed by organisations in the host country. The GrEASE placements offer a 'real-work environment' experience, with the necessary guidance and supervision provided by the host partners. Applicants should be aware that approaches to archaeological research and excavation do vary across Europe and all participants should therefore expect to experience differences in methodology and techniques. Participants are expected to become part of a team and to ultimately make a meaningful contribution to the host project. As recent graduates, it is anticipated that participants will be willing to take responsibility for decisions during the excavation process.

In addition to the archaeological work and experience, participants will have the opportunity to carry out cultural visits and will have free evenings and weekends to gain a broader experience of the host country and culture.

All applicants should be aware that these placements involve a degree of physical work! Also, all participants must complete a report on their experience, which should be submitted to Grampus after returning to the UK.

GrEASE placements at a glance:

Iceland: FULL 23rd June- 18th August 2008. Excavation of the medieval monastic ruins at Skriðuklaustur in Fljótsdalur valley, East Iceland. This excavation has hosted participants from the UK for the past four years and has proven to be a most popular destination.

Slovakia:FULL 27th August to 22nd October 2008. Stropkov Region. The excavation in 2008 will continue on the site of Vlaca, in order to gain a deeper understanding of its history. During the 8-week placement, participants will excavate to explore the hypothesis that the site was the location of a Bronze-Age settlement.

Bulgaria: 7th July -11th August 2008. Excavations and research at the impressive medieval Cherven Fortress. Cherven is located close to the Bulgarian / Romanian border town of Rousse. The impressive location and the warm welcome provided by the Regional Museum of Rousse has made this a very popular destination for our participants over the past four years.

Cyprus: FULL Early October to Early December 2008. An exciting new opportunity for 8 archaeology graduates from the UK to gain experience of archaeological excavation in Cyprus. The participants will be hosted by the Akrotiri Environmental Centre and will join excavations led by the Cyprus Department of Antiquities on the Akrotiri Peninsula. More details to follow. Contact Us Now to register your interest.

All placements involve a group of at least four students from the UK travelling together. All GrEASE placements are eight weeks in duration and, where possible, will be timed to begin after completion of final year studies.

You can apply now for all of these placements!

NOTE: Participants on all of our placements will now require a European Health Insurance CARD (EHIC). CLICK HERE to visit the external website and apply for your EHIC online.