Salona was the capital of the province of Dalmatia and the most important Roman site on the Eastern Adriatic. As a Roman colony, it was established in the 1^st century BCE, and it lasted until 7^th century CE when Avar and Slavic raiders conquered Salona and forced its inhabitants to flee. It is probably the only provincial capital that didn’t develop into a medieval and, consequently, a modern city. Instead, the royal medieval city of Solin was outside the site perimeter, and the remains of Roman Salona served as a quarry for the Medieval Solin, Split and even as far as Venice.

Roman Salona has been excavated for more than 200 years. Yet most of the site’s area – about 80% — is still unexcavated and unknown. There is much we need to know about Salona, including its building sequence, its integration of local population with Italian Romans, and its economic and political organization and institutions.

During the spring field school, we will excavate the towers dotting the city’s walls, dated to the 2-4 centuries CE. To elevate the floor within the towers, the builders brought soil rich with ceramics and other materials from elsewhere at Salona (likely the nearby cemetery), creating a highly packed time capsule.

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.

Associate Professor at the Department of Archaeology, University of Zagreb (Croatia)

• 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.

Students will reside in apartments in Solin (pop. 25.000), 2-3 students per apartment, depending on size and number of rooms (some rooms are with double bed). The apartments are within walking distance of the site (max 15 mins). All apartments are air-conditioned and have Wi-Fi. Linens and towels are provided.

This program provides full accommodation. Lunch & snacks are provided for days working at the site. Students are responsible for their own breakfast and dinner during days of excavation and all meals for days off (weekends). Some diets (vegan, vegetarian, etc.) may be accommodated at this program, but must be communicated with and approved by the project director. There are numerous well-supplied supermarkets in Solin for all types of diets and these are open every day (some don’t work on Sundays).

We suggest you hold off purchasing your airline ticket until six (6) weeks before the program begins. Natural disasters, political changes, weather conditions & a range of other factors may require the cancellation of a field school. ARC typically makes a final Go/No Go decision six weeks before program begins. To protect students from potential financial loss, we urge you to purchase airline tickets only six weeks prior to a program beginning.

Students will be met at the main entrance of the Salona site on Sunday, the first day of this field school at 5:00 pm. If you arrive at the Split International Airport (SPU), take a taxi to the main Salona site entrance at Solin. The cost is around €20. For all the details about the landing time and meeting point, you will be in contact with the project director. If you come a day or a few days earlier and are situated in Split, you can reach the meeting point by a local bus (line nr. 1 – you enter at the National theatre station in Split and you get out at Starine station in Solin. That station is near the main entrance to the site).

Croatia is a party to the Schengen Visa Agreement within the EU. Citizens of the U.S. may enter Croatia without a visa for stays of up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes. EU regulations require that U.S. passport holders have no less than three months’ validity when they depart Croatia.

Citizens of other countries are asked to check the Croatian Embassy website page at their home country for specific visa requirements.