Archaeology Field School
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Archaeology is the study of past cultures. Students are given the opportunity to participate in on-going research projects throughout the academic year as well as during the summer. The Longwood Archaeology Field School was established in 1980 to offer students hands-on, practical training in archaeological field methods and techniques.
Currently, the Field School is engaged in two long-term research projects. The first project is a
n excavation of a Late-Woodland Indian hamlet along the banks of the Staunton River in Charlotte County, Virginia. Located at Staunton River Battlefield State Park, this site is producing valuable information about what life was like in 
Southside Virginia in the 500 years prior to European contact. The other project is a joint research excavation conducted in the British Virgin Islands by Longwood and the University of London Institute of Archaeology. The focus of this project is for researchers to gain an understanding of the cultural complexity of the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Greater Antilles and the Windward Islands.
On both of these projects, as well as in other field opportunities that frequently become available, students are actively involved in designing and implementing research strategies that will increase our general knowledge and understanding of various past cultures. The philosophy of the program has always emphasized active learning by fully involving students in the process if archaeological inquiry. This approach continues throughout the academic year as students develop research projects in numerous courses such as advanced archaeology, archaeological theory and the archaeological laboratory course – actually conducting analysis of finds recovered during the summer field schools.