BALKAN HERITAGE (BH) FIELD SCHOOL
 
The Balkan Heritage  Field School (BHFS, est. 2003) functions as a legal part of Balkan Heritage Foundation - Bulgarian public, non-profit, non-governmental organization. The BHFS is the biggest field school in the region. Its program offers every year between 6 and 10 educative projects (all of them accredited by New Bulgarian University) in the areas of Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Folklore, Art History, Restoration and Conservation of artifacts and monuments, Fine Arts and Theology  for students, scholars and volunteers from all over the World. For the last eight years Balkan Heritage projects were attended by 550 participants from 41 countries.

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Each of the Balkan Heritage Field School Projects (could be either excavations or workshops or expeditions etc.) combines 3 basic modules: theoretical (lectures and trainings), practical (excavations, workshops, lab work, field trips) and excursions to attractive archaeological and cultural sites around the project’s location.

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Balkan Heritage Mission is to support study, protection, restoration and promotion of sites, artifacts and practices belonging or related to the cultural heritage of South-eastern Europe.

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Major Balkan Heritage partners are: New Bulgarian University, Varna Regional Museum of History, Blagoevgrad Regional Museum of History, Archaeological Museum of Sozopol, Apollonia Pontica Excavation Team, the municipalities of Dragoman and Svilengrad (Bulgaria); Fulbright Commission (USA, Bulgaria); Youth Cultural Center - Bitola, NI Stobi, NI and Museum Bitola (Macedonia) as well as Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Nanterre (France), Queen’s University (Ontario, Canada).

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Balkan Heritage provides a list with recommended destinations in Southeastern Europe. All of them are relatively close (between 100 and 600 km) to the field school locations. The purpose is to help the participants in Balkan Heritage projects to create their own itineraries in the Balkans before or after the field school.

Balkan Heritage PROJECTS 2003-2010:

Stobi Excavations, 2010 - present (Macedonia) - The field school project takes place at Stobi - the capital of the Roman province Macedonia Secunda. Excavations uncover the glorious past of that Hellenistic and Roman city in Macedonia. BH partners: NI Stobi (Macedonia) and New Bulgarian University (Bulgaria).

Workshops for Conservation, Restoration and Documentation of Ancient Greek and Roman Pottery, 2009 - present ( Bulgaria and Macedonia) - These workshops (part of the field school program) guide the participants through the history of Ancient pottery, its production and consequent stages of archaeological conservation, documentation, study, and restoration. BH Partners:  NI Stobi (Macedonia), Apollonia Pontica Project (Bulgaria), New Bulgarian University (Bulgaria) and Stara Zagora Regional Museum of History (Bulgaria).

A Byzantine Cold Case File - Early Christian Monastery Excavations in Varna, 2009-present (Bulgaria) - The field school and excavations of the early Christian church (sixth century) on Djanavara hill in Varna reveal a 100 y/o mystery around that unique monument. BH Partners: Varna Regional Museum of History and New Bulgarian University (Bulgaria).

Heraclea Lyncestis Excavations, 2008 - present (Macedonia) - the field school project takes place at the ancient city of Heraclea Lyncestis next to the contemporary town of Bitola. BH Partners: NI and Museum - Bitola, Youth Cultural Center-Bitola (Macedonia) and New Bulgarian University (Bulgaria).
"Fresco-Hunting” Photo Expedition to Medieval Balkan Churches, 2007-present (Bulgaria) – For the last four years the “Fresco-Hunting” Photo Expedition has upgraded existing iconographic schemes, architecture plans and sections and completed photographic database of nine churches and chapels in Western Bulgaria. BH Partners: New Bulgarian University and Fulbright Commission (Bulgaria).

Mezek Heritage Workcamp, 2009 ( Bulgaria) - the workcamp project supported maintenance of cultural heritage sites (Thracian tomb and Medieval fortress) in the village of Mezek. As a part of the workcamp program, participants visited various cultural sites in the region and assessed their tourist potential. BH Partner: Municipality of Svilengrad (Bulgaria).

Avgusta Traiana-Beroia-Borui Resque Excavations, 2007-2009 ( Bulgaria) - The field school  project supported the rescue excavations in the archaeological reserve under the contemporary town of Stara Zagora found a Roman aqueduct, part of the ditch surrounding the Roman city, public and private buildings and numerous architectural fragments and artifacts of Roman and Late Roman urban culture (2-6 century AD). BH Partner: Regional History Museum – Stara Zagora (Bulgaria).

 
Bitola Heritage Workcamp, 2008 (Macedonia) - The projects assisted the excavations of the ancient city of HERACLEA LYNCESTIS next to the contemporary town of Bitola. BH Partners: N.I. Institute and Museum - Bitola and Youth Cultural Center-Bitola ( Macedonia).

Stara Zagora Heritage Workcamp, 2007-2008 (Bulgaria) - both work camp projects, organised consequently in 2007 and 2008, assisted rescue excavations of AVGUSTA TRAIANA-BEROIA-BORUI archaeological reserve under the contemporary town of Stara Zagora and cultural heritage sites' maintenance in  the town. Two cleaning campaigns of the Town's Roman forum attracted local journalists and as a consequence media raised the issue of neglected cultural sites in Stara Zagora. BH Partners: Regional History Museum - Stara Zagora, Open Society Club - Stara Zagora (Bulgaria), SEEYN Network (BiH).

    

Dragoman Heritage Workcamp, 2006 (Bulgaria) - The  project assisted a  photo-expedition tracking the Roman road Via militaris in the municipality of Dragoman (Western Bulgaria). BH Partners: Dragoman municipality (Bulgaria), Eko Obshtnost Foundation (Bulgaria), SEEYN Network (BiH).

 

 

Dragoman Heritage Workcamp, 2005 (Bulgaria) – The very first “fresco-hunting” photo expedition to medieval churches (thirteenth-fourteenth century) in Nishava region (Western Bulgaria). BH Partners: Dragoman municipality (Bulgaria), Eko Obshtnost Foundation (Bulgaria), SEEYN (BiH).

 

 

Mezdra, 2004 (Bulgaria) – (field school and workcamp). The excavations of a prehistoric house in sector 2 of Mezdra Fortress (NW Bulgaria) discovered: tools and weapons by flint, stone, copper and bone as well as numerous well preserved vessels referring to the Balkan Late Copper age culture: Krivodol – Salcutsa - Bubanj Hum I A (spread out over the territory of present NW Bulgaria, E Serbia and SW Romania between 4400-4000 BC). BH Partners: Mezdra Municipality (Bulgaria), Vratsa Historic Museum (Bulgaria), BAA Ivan Venedikov (Bulgaria).

Zaminec, 2003 (Bulgaria) – (field school and workcamp). The excavations of the prehistoric settlement located on Zaminec hill in Northwestern Bulgaria found an intramural necropolis and a huge number of unstratified (because of recent treasure-hunters' interventions) materials related to Krivodol – Salcutsa - Bubanj Hum IA (Balkan Late Copper age culture spread out over the territory of present NW Bulgaria, E Serbia and SW Romania between 4400-4000 BC). BH Partners: SEEYN Network (BiH), Vratsa Historic Museum (Bulgaria), BAA Ivan Venedikov (Bulgaria).