ARCHAEOTEK
Bio/Archaeological Techniques and Research Center
BIOARCH CANADA
Medieval Funerary Excavations:
Living and Dying on the Edge of Europe
Transylvania (Erdély) is a beautifully mythic and historically tumultuous region located in the heart of the Carpathian Basin in present-day Romania. Prior to WWI, Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary with its eastern border protected by the Hungarian Szeklers for over 1000 years. It is Szekler (Székely) history that this project investigates. ArchaeoTek teams have been working with the Haáz Rezső Múzeum, Dr. Zsolt Nyárádi, and interested Szekler descendant community members since 2013 to find and recover the remains of historic churches and their associated mortuary landscapes. Working with a calibrated radiocarbon timespan of CE 1050 to present, we have found that while the rural communities were often forced to participate in larger social changes, their resistance and ability to maintain relative stasis in their local context was not due to rural antagonism and isolation but to strategic choices that allowed for their continued cultural survival and success.
At present, we have two active sites. The Papdomb site is located Văleni (Patakfalva) and consists of the remains of a church and its associated mortuary landscape. Over 1000 individuals have been recovered from the site and have provided a rare, large-scale perspective of rural village cemetery use over 800 years. The second site is the St. Nicholas (St. Miklos) site located in the heart of downtown Odorheiu Secuiesc (Szekelyudverhely). This site was opened in 2025 and already promises to be an exciting comparison to the discoveries at the Papdomb site. The two churches were contemporaneous and about 8km away from each other. One was urban and one was rural. One was located at the center of the political “Seat of the Szeklers” the other serviced three-small villages. Burial practices show many similarities but the St. Nicholas interments show more variation than anticipated.
Participants enrolled in the field excavation program will assist in the recovery of human remains from beginning to end. Standard tasks include the recovery and documentation of human remains through detailed excavation, hand-drawn, plan maps, note-taking, removal, washing, and curation practices. The churches were used by their respective villages/ towns and thus represent broad demographics in terms of age and skeletal sex. We typically assign students to a dig partner and each team of two will be assigned to a gravecut. It is hard to predict what will be found but all teams will complete the excavation of one skeleton, and most teams complete two or more. Evening activities compliment project themes and learning. Rain days are still work days and will be supplemented with whatever the project needs and resources are at the point in the summer.
LOGISTICS
Location: Valeni, Hatghita County, Transylvania, Romania
Dates:
Session 1 : June 8- July 3, 2026
Session 2 : July 5 - July 31, 2026
Housing: housed in a beautifully renovated hotel, 2-3 participants per room, with private bathrooms
Meals: breakfast and dinner are served Mon-Fri at the hotel; traditional Romanian and Szekler cuisine; we can accommodate vegetarian diets, however, we are NOT able to offer a vegan or gluten-free option.
FIELD PROGRAM COST
(non-credit):
Session 1 : US$ 2945 (4 weeks)
Session 2: US$ 2945 (4 weeks)
Fees include: registration and field fees, lectures, field and laboratory gear, housing and meals as described above. Academic credits/tuition not included in the above cost.
Academic Credit (optional): 3 or 6 undergraduate (graduate - if applicable) credits can be earned through University of South Florida - additional USF tuition. See USF Program Brochure for more information. USF procedures and deadlines apply. Click the link below or contact Dr. Jonathan Bethard at USF for more details.
