Overview
Between the 14th & 17th centuries CE, the Balkans experienced troubling, violent times. The Byzantine Empire, the Second Bulgarian Empire and the Serbian Empire collapsed in the 15th century, and the Ottoman Empire conquered Southeastern Europe. The many wars, and the accompanying social and political upheavals, had a direct impact on the expression of Christian Orthodox practice and iconography. During this Late Medieval period, Christian Orthodox structures were built to attract the least attention, with humble architecture on the outside, but with exquisite frescos inside.
In the past 100 years, many of these structures were abandoned and fell into misuse and disrepair. Some have been looted – first during the Ottoman Empire by either Muslim Turks or superstitious local Christians – and then by modern looters and vandals. Many structures are collapsing due to the impact of weather and lack of maintenance. These important cultural heritage monuments are disappearing. This program is part of a long term project to document these Christian Orthodox structures and preserve their heritage for future generations – in photographic and digital format at a minimum and raise public awareness of state recognition and legal preservation when possible.
The Fresco-Hunting Photo Research Expedition systematically documents abandoned medieval churches and chapels – and their frescos – in western Bulgaria and Serbia. Students will take part in this process and will gain context and understanding of Christian Orthodox iconography through visitation to several churches, monasteries, museums, and archaeological sites in these two countries. Thus far, the Fresco-Hunting Photo Research Expedition has been successful in raising public awareness and three sites have now been formally designated as official state monuments and protected under the law – Balsha, Kalotina, and Zimevitsa. In 2017, the Balkan Heritage Foundation issued the first e-book dedicated to one of the churches – the 17th century church St. Thedore Tyro in Zimevitsa. We are now working, and students in this program will take part in collecting more data for the publication of more of these churches and chapels.
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 11
Rectofiling image of fresco
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 10
Learning to document frescos
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 09
Class setting for image processing
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 08
Students documenting ceiling panels
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 07
Fresco of Byzantine Saints
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 06
Student taking photographs
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 05
Measuring walls with frescos
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 04
Setting up camera & lights
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 03
Students preparing for fresco wall photography
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 02
Documenting a fresco wall
2026 Bulgaria Fresco Hunting-Carousel 01
Instructor(s)
All field school directors are experts in their field and passionate about their work. To discuss the suitability of this program for your career goals – whether within or outside academia – you are invited to contact the directors directly. For a broader discussion which ARC program to choose, you are welcome to contact our staff directly – you can do that through our “Contact Us” page.
Testimonials & Program evaluation
Student Fees (Tuition)
What is Covered
- DEPOSIT IS PART OF TOTAL TUITION COST
- Costs of Instruction
- Cost of Academic Credit Units
- Health Insurance
- Full Room & Board
- Liability & Accident Insurance
Read Before You Pay
- Application: You must apply online for this program – application is free
- Deposit: A $300 nonrefundable deposit (part of the total tuition cost) is required to secure a space in the program
- Credit Card Fee: Payments with credits cards incur 3% processing fee
- Late Fee: A $100 Late Fee will be added to the program costs if tuition is not paid in full by payment deadline
- Cancellation Policy: Carefully read our Cancellation Policy before committing to attending our programs
- Trip Cancellation Insurance: Trip cancellation insurance is not provided by ARC. Such policies have changed due to Covid 19. If you wish to purchase an insurance policy that covers pandemic contingencies, explore Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) plans. Insuremytrip or Travel Guard are possible websites where you may explore different insurance policies.
Accommodations
We will stay at various hotels throughout Bulgaria and Serbia. Rooms will be shared, two to three beds each, with bathrooms, showers, TV, and free Wi-Fi.
Diet
Three meals per day are provided by the program. Meals usually take place in the hotel restaurant, except the brown-bag lunches, when we are visiting sites across western Bulgaria and Serbia. This program can accommodate vegetarian diets.
Travel Information
We suggest you hold purchasing your airline ticket until six (6) weeks prior to departure date. Natural disasters, political changes, weather conditions and a range of other factors may require the cancelation of a program. The ARC typically takes a close look at local conditions 6-7 weeks prior to program beginning and makes a Go/No Go decision by then. Such time frame still allows for the purchase deeply discounted airline tickets while protecting students from potential loss of airline ticket costs if the ARC is forced to cancel a program.
Students should fly to Sofia International Airport (SOF). The meeting point is on the first day of the program (Sunday) at 7:00pm. We will meet at Hotel Central, Sofia. Transfer from Sofia Airport to the hotel may be arranged and will be discussed during the online orientation (see date on the program web page).
Visa Information
There are no visa requirements for U.S. citizen travelling to Bulgaria, if they do not stay longer than 3 months. Passport’s expiration date should exceed the stay by at least 3 months.
Citizens of other countries are asked to check the Bulgarian Embassy website page at their home country for specific visa requirements.
Meeting Point
| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2026 | 7:00pm | Hotel Central, Sofia |
If you missed your connection or your flight is delayed, please call, text or email project director(s) immediately. A local emergency cell phone number will be provided to all enrolled students.
Safety
Our primary mission is student education. Traveling and conducting field work involves risk and students interested in participating in any field schools must weigh whether the potential risk is worth the value of education earned. While risk is inherent in everything we do, we do not take risk lightly. We engage in intensive review of each field school location prior to approval and continue to monitor conditions on the ground to ensure a safe and wholesome education experience.
Students attending our international programs are covered by a comprehensive Health Insurance Policy that covers physical illness or injury, mental or chronic conditions and medical evacuation – if needed. This insurance policy has no deductibles and 100% of the costs are covered up to $250,000 (for more, see here). In addition, we provide Political & Natural Disaster Evacuation policy, which allows us to remove students from program location if conditions change.
Students attending our domestic programs (within the US) must have their own health insurance. Program directors are familiar with local authorities and if in need of evacuation, local emergency services and/or law enforcement will be notified and activated.
We have an explicit and robust Harassment & Discrimination Policy, outlined on our Health & Safety page. If students feel they cannot discuss personal safety issues with program staff, they are welcome to call the ARC emergency hotline and talk directly with an ARC staff member.
Call (+1 323 740-1805) or email (admin@anthroctr.org) if you have questions about the safety of any program.