Pella Volunteer Scheme
An opportunity to work on the excavations at Pella
Over the last 24 years we have provided members of the general public with an opportunity to work on the University of Sydney’s excavations at Pella in Jordan.
A Pella Volunteer working at the site in 2019.
In conjunction with the Pella Excavation Project, we have enabled people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the unique atmosphere of working on an archaeological dig.
January-February 2023 excavation
Unfortunately the Pella 2022 excavation season has been postponed. Soon we will be accepting expressions of interest for the January-February 2023 excavation season at Pella, when we will further investigate:
- The LBA Palace (Area 32) that contained the wonderful assemblages found in 2019, and the MBA Palace that lies below (ca. 1800–1200 BCE)
- The new trenches immediately west of the ‘palace’ (Area 28), exploring the gate/courtyard area of the Iron Age ‘bit-hilani’ palace that sits above the Bronze Age buildings (ca. 900–700 BCE)
- The monumental EBA fortification system, and earlier and later domestic structures on the eastern summit of Tell Husn (Area 34)
- The Mameluke period (ca.1250–1500 CE) governmental complex on the central mound (Area 23), and earlier Hellenistic (ca.100 BCE) precursors.
Finds from the most recent season include an assemblage of stunning wood, bone and ivory furniture inlays, glass and faience vessels, faience and stone cylinder seals, metal figurines and ceramic cult stands - all from the Late Bronze Age, along with basalt, marble and limestone column capitals from the Iron Age through Islamic periods.
Volunteer information
The dates of the 2023 Pella Season are:
- Group 1: 08-26 January 2023
- Group 2: 29 January to 16 February 2023
The cost of participating in either group is $5,950 (To Be Confirmed)
The fee includes food and board (and, hopefully, a lot of fun!) for the three weeks you will be at the Pella site, as well as internal transport to and from the site.
We do not arrange group bookings as most volunteers tend to have travel plans before or after their time with us at Pella. If you are interested in working at the important and beautiful site of Pella, a new Pella Application form will be available shortly.
More information
E neaf.archaeology@sydney.edu.au
P +61 2 9114 0921
M Volunteer Coordinator,
Pella Volunteers
NEAF SOPHI A14
The University of Sydney 2006
