We are now accepting applications for the 2023 field season!

  • Investigate the roots of the First Steppe Empire of Mongolia through archaeological fieldwork in the Züünkhangai region of northwestern Mongolia. 

  • Learn state of the art field methods and conduct hands-on work on Bronze and Iron Age sites with an international team of archaeologists who are investigating human-environment relationships and the development of complex societies in Inner Asia.  ​

  • Expose yourself to a radically different culture and way of life by living and working among Mongolian pastoral herders who make up one of the world's last remaining nomadic cultures.​​

This collaborative project between Western Kentucky University and the National Museum of Mongolia aims to investigate human-environment relationships and understand the nature of the social, political, and economic organization of Bronze and Iron Age societies in the Züünkhangai region of Mongolia through the use of landscape and settlement archaeology (see Project Overview below for more details).

The 2023 field season will include regional survey and excavation of ancient nomadic pastoralist habitation sites and ritual monuments. Participants will receive training in survey, proper methods of unearthing and documenting materials, and other related field and lab methods.

This project accommodates participants wishing to receive academic credit through WKU and those just willing to gain archaeological field experience.

Project 2023

SESSION DATES

25 May - 20 June, 2023

APPLICATION DEADLINE

28 February, 2023
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Accordingly, we encourage you to apply early.

PROGRAM FEES

$2,800
Includes: Transport to and from field, training, lodging and meals in the field, tuition (3 credits), and international medical insurance.

​Not included: International travel, visas (if needed).
​Participants bring their own sleeping bag.
National Museum of Mongolia
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