This summer, Classics MA student Aaron Held (BA ’25) joined the Poggio Civitate Archaeological Field School in Tuscany, supported by the Suzanne Mizera and James Risch Fund.
Located just south of Siena, Poggio Civitate is a prominent Etruscan site first occupied in the seventh century BCE and abandoned in the fifth. The program is widely recognized for its hands-on training in both excavation and artifact conservation, giving students the opportunity to learn directly in the field and in the lab.
Aaron embraced both aspects of the work, from analyzing and reconstructing artifacts to developing trenchside expertise in identifying pottery, bones, and other finds. “My favorite time was in the trenches,” he shared. “I especially enjoyed learning to distinguish different categories of pottery and identifying fragments, like a fenestrated impasto base that clearly functioned as a strainer.”
These skills, Aaron noted, are invaluable as he continues to pursue archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean. This winter, he will join the Amheida Project in Egypt’s Dakhleh Oasis to further his training.
Aaron expressed his gratitude to Suzanne Mizera and James Risch for making this transformative experience possible.
