Can You Dig It?

Archaeology is really cool. Need convincing? Indiana Jones is an archaeologist, and how cool is he? His epic adventures diggin’ in the dirt are evidence enough, I’d say! So, for you cool kids who don’t mind getting your hands dirty, this field of study might be for you!

You may not know it, but archaeology is taught here at Hopkins as a subfield in a number of academic programs and departments – such as Near Eastern Studies, Classics, Anthropology, and to some degree Museum Studies and History of Art. And, there is now an interdisciplinary archaeology undergraduate major that might pique your curiosity!

Notably, archaeology is an important part of our institutional history. The University’s Archaeological Collection, first documented in a catalog authored by Ellen Reeder Williams, is an excellent teaching collection that forms the basis of the Hopkins Archaeological Museum, the centerpiece of the newly renovated Gilman Hall. In addition to the JHU teaching collection, the Museum now also houses the Myers Collection of Egyptian objects on loan to us from Eton College in the UK.

Interested in seeing photos of archaeological digs? Hopkins’ archaeological work in Egypt is documented on the website Hopkins in Egypt Today. And, there’s a cool blog called Archaeological Digs – it has a lot of interesting posts and resources.

Would you like to research the topic? The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is an excellent place to start. Similarly, for cutting-edge research in the use of Geographic Information Systems in current archaeological research, try ArchAtlas.

Looking for books? We have a lot, including scholarship on archaeology of the ancient Near East, the Americas, Greece and Rome, Europe, and general world archaeology.

And, don’t forget the library’s research guides! Since archaeology is interdisciplinary, you may need to use a number of the guides, such as:

• Anthropology
• Art History
• Classics
• Museum Studies
• Near Eastern Studies

Remember that if you need help, you can always ask a librarian!