Trasimeno Archaeology Field School Makes the News
Students at Umbra’s Trasimeno Archaeology Field School were recently featured in a local news article. Check out a translated version of the article below or find the original written in Italian: PerugiaToday.it.
“Castiglione del Lago, new excavation campaign: thirty US researchers at work for six weeks
The Trasimeno Regional Archaeological Project has restarted.
The archaeological excavations in the territory of the Municipality of Castiglione del Lago resumed at the end of May with the increasing participation of American university students who will remain for six weeks on the banks of the Trasimeno.
There are about thirty individuals at work, including archaeologists and students of The Umbra Institute, DePauw University, and Associazione Acqua, under the scientific direction of professors Rebecca Schindler and Pedar Foss and with the assistance of archaeologists Stefano Spiganti, Giampiero Bevagna and Giancarlo Santarelli. This is possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture under the supervision of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape of Umbria, in the person of Paola Romi.
Students, researchers, and professors were welcomed by deputy mayor Andrea Sacco who stated: “Knowing the history and origins of the place in which we live is fundamental. The archaeological excavations in the Castiglione del Lago area have become a traditional event that year by year has grown more important, especially now that, as a municipal administration, we focus even more on the development of culture as a tourist and economic driving force”.
The archaeologist Stefano Spiganti explains about the excavation: “This year the research has focused on the southern slopes of the hill of Castiglione del Lago, just outside the town walls, along one of the stairways that descends from via Belvedere towards the banks of the Trasimeno. Some structures from the Roman age are currently visible, in particular, a large canal for the flow of water and a large support structure consisting of four arches which we don’t know what is yet”.
The Trap (Trasimeno Regional Archaeological Project) project began in 2015 and involves the research, recovery, and enhancement of the archaeological assets present in the Castiglione area, an initiative born thanks to the close collaboration between the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape of Umbria, the Municipality of Castiglione del Lago, The Umbra Institute of Perugia, the Department of Classical Studies of the DePauw University of Greencastle (Indiana, USA), the Castiglionese association Archeo Trasimeno and the Acqua Association.
“Thanks to the new technologies available to the project – says Spiganti – it will be possible to reconstruct in 3D the newly discovered structures and show them on specially created web pages, like that of the Digital Museum, created following the previous excavation campaigns”.
The excavations will continue until the first days of July.”
To learn more about the Trasimeno Archaeology Field School the Institute’s page here and be sure to keep an eye out for updates on our social media pages.