The 2nd international Summer School of Archaeology (ArchLABS2 - Archaeological heritage in Late Antique and Byzantine Sicily) was held in Piazza Armerina in Sicily, one of the most famous complexes in the Mediterranean and an UNESCO site (this year it celebrates its 25th anniversary), from June 5 to June 18, 2023. The initiative, coordinated by the University of Bologna, was co-organized by CISEM - Centro Interuniversitario di Studi sull'Edilizia abitativa tardoantica nel Mediterraneo. ArchLABS2 is an international project that was carried out with the support of the European Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) Initiative, and involved professors and students from the Open University of Cyprus, and more specifically Georgios Deligiannakis (Associate Professor, Programme “Studies in Hellenic Culture”) and the OUC students Ms Konstantina Anagnosti and Ms Roxani Vlachopoulou. Members of the consortium that implemented ArchLABS2 were the University of Peloponnese, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University of Oviedo, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Stockholm University, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, and Pablo de Olavide University Sevilla with their own professors. Also collaborating in the project were specialists from the National Research Council in Rome (CNR), Archaeological Park of Morgantina and the Villa Romana del Casale, Agieo Viaggi, The Institute of Heritage Science (ISPC), the Kore University of Enna, and the University of South Florida.
The Summer School dealt with housing in late antique Sicily, with particular focus on the aristocratic Villa of Piazza Armenina. The aim was to provide a learning opportunity that combined theory with practice, and students were taught digital techniques or investigation, survey, data collection, management and 3D reconstruction of archaeological records. Participants were engaged in excavation work, archaeological documentation and study visits at museums and sites. Lectures and workshops by experts in archaeology, history and restoration took place daily, supplementing the field activities.
The ArchLABS Blended Intensive Programme that was held for a second consecutive year can constitute a training model of excellence, to be continued over time. It has already managed to raise a broader awareness of the issues of archaeology and the preservation of the cultural heritage of Sicily.
