Applying for a fieldwork permit

Update on Fieldwork and Permit Availability

The next available fieldwork permits through the ASCSA will be in 2026. Completed proposals must be submitted via the online application form by November 30, 2024. Here is the updated schedule of ASCSA annual permits:

 
2024 
Independent:    Corinth
                         Samothrace (2018-2024)*
                         Isthmia (2024-2025)
Synergasia:      Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project (2023-2025)
                         Kopaic Cultures-Economies and Landscapes (KOCECOLA, 2023-2026)
                         Megalos Peristeres (2024-2025)
 
2025
Independent:    Corinth 
                         Isthmia (2024-2025)
                         Mt Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project (2025-2027)
Synergasias:    Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project (2023-2025) 
                         Kopaic Cultures-Economies and Landscapes (KOCECOLA, 2023-2026) 
                         Megalos Peristeres (2024-2025)

(*extension due to Covid-19 restrictions)

2026
Independent:  Corinth
                       Mt Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project (2025-2027)
                       1 permit available
Synergasias:   Kopaic Cultures-Economies and Landscapes (KOCECOLA, 2023-2026)
                       2 permits available

2027
Independent:  Corinth
                        Mt Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project (2025-2027)
                       1 permit available
Synergasias:  3 permits available

For applying to the Excavation and Survey Committee for one of the available permits, please follow the instructions below. All proposals for excavation and survey work in Greece should be discussed first with the Director of the School (Director@ascsa.edu.gr) and the Chair of the Excavation and Survey Committee (jmmurph2@uncg.edu). 

Ready to apply?

Make sure to read the application requirements below before submitting your online application. If you have questions about your application, you may contact the Chair of the Excavation & Survey Committee, Joanne Murphy (jmmurph2@uncg.edu).

Instructions for applying to the School’s Excavation and Survey Committee

Applications to the Excavation and Survey Committee should be submitted online, including the proposal, illustrations, and supporting documents.  The Excavation and Survey Committee traditionally meets during the Archaeological Institute of America meetings in January and considers proposals for work to begin approximately 18 months from that time.
Proposals will be assessed on the following criteria and information:
a. An Abstract summarizing the research plan and intellectual goals of the project.
b. A statement of the research plan and intellectual goals of the project including relevant bibliography (not to exceed 7 pages single-spaced).
• When a permit is sought for continuing work on a pre-existing project, the project’s intellectual results to date and how these results have been disseminated must be communicated.
c. A statement of method and techniques to be employed. For scientific analyses, methods should be clearly articulated, and qualified personnel who will conduct the analyses should be included in section (e).
d. A plan, established in conjunction with the Ephorate, for ongoing site conservation and final and sustainable plan for site conservation at the end of the permit period. If you are applying for a new permit, please provide a general outline for conservation. For more information about planning for site conservation, click here.
e. The names and specialties of the staff who are to participate in the work. Additionally, submit the full CV of director(s) (not to exceed 20 pages) and 2-page CV of each senior staff member (Append after the staff list).
f. The exact dates of the field work which should not be more than 8 weeks and the overall length of the program.
• The fieldwork should be planned to start not earlier than April 1st of each year. If there is a special reason why a project should take place earlier, this must be explained in writing, in a special request to be submitted no later than October 1st. These rules are stated in the Ministry’s directive of 2002, which is valid until further notice.
g. A budget for the work and evidence that funds are available and/or have been applied for.
• The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sport, in 2018, determined that: "The availability of adequate and appropriate storage space for storing and studying finds must be ensured before the commencement of new archaeological research projects. It is possible to request from the research institution carrying out the excavations to find and rent an appropriate space, which will be under the direct supervision and responsibility of the relevant Ephorate of Antiquities and will fulfill all the security requirements of antiquities storage facilities." Applications for excavation and survey permits should include a statement indicating the arrangements for the storage of finds including any formal documentation of agreements with the relevant authorities.

Necessary Supporting Documents:
a. A brief written statement of support for the project from the Director of the relevant Ephorate.  This requires personal and direct communication in person with the Proistamenos.
b. The contacts which have been made with local authorities about the work, and what support is forthcoming from them.
c. The precise location and area to be excavated/surveyed.  This should be described verbally and clearly indicated on a detailed map of scale 1:5,000.
d. If a permit for excavation is sought, the Trustees of the School require a statement on the legal disposition of the land and how this has been determined.  If the land on which you wish to excavate is privately owned, you must provide a plan for land acquisition and transference to the Greek government (purchase or expropriation or both) that has been agreed upon with the Director of the relevant Ephorate and indicate what progress has been made in negotiations with the landowners. Directors applying for a permit to excavate must demonstrate that they have the funds (or at least the majority) in hand for the acquisition before a permit request can be granted by the ASCSA.
e. If the project will employ workers, an explanation addressing how social insurance (IKA) will be paid for them.  The ASCSA does not provide this service for affiliated projects.
f. Evidence of support from the cooperating institution(s) of which the project director(s) is a member, e.g. a letter from an appropriate Dean or the Provost.
g. Evidence that prior publication commitments of field projects have been been fulfilled. This includes commitments for current project being applied for (if applicable), as well as any other relevant or affiliated ASCSA fieldwork (if applicable).
h. A statement outlining publication plans for the project, including plans for regular preliminary and final reports.
• This plan should be updated as warranted by changes in the project’s plans and should contain also a statement of the methods to be employed by the project for the long-term storage and preservation of electronic data that emerges.
i. Evidence that adequate, available storage facilities have been identified.

Synergasias
If a synergasia is contemplated, the name(s) of the Greek co-director(s) and a clear outline of the divisions of labor and responsibilities between the Greek and American teams, including a statement that each side will provide one-half of the required funds and staff for each season. In synergasia projects, and according to the directive of the Ministry of March 2018, the two teams must sign a “protocol of collaboration” before the beginning of their project. In this protocol the two teams must describe the intellectual purpose of the synergasia, the duration and the budget. The synergasia project is equally divided between the two parties and the Greek side is the director of the project. The "protocol of collaboration" is signed by the directors of the project and the directors of the collaborating institutions.

Continuing Excavations
If the request is for continuing excavation on a site where you have excavated before, a clear indication both in writing and on a state plan of the site where conservation/backfilling is complete and what, if anything, remains to be completed. For more about planning for site conservation, click here. Additional information will also be necessary - please consult the online application form. 

Instructions for applying to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports

For those granted one of the School’s five fieldwork permits, the following guidelines apply. If you have questions about this procedure, please contact the Assistant to the Director. Please consult the 2018 Ministerial Decision on the Definition of archaeological fieldwork, conditions and procedure for issuing permits of systematic archaeological research and regulation on systematic excavations (English - Greek), as well as the Ministry's latest directive (2018) on the Terms, conditions and procedure for permitting systematic archaeological research in Greece (English - Greek) before submitting your request.

Directors of new and ongoing fieldwork projects must submit the following information to the Assistant to the Director by October 15 each year:

- New Field Projects:
a. The purpose, research goals and expected contributions to knowledge of the project.
b. A schedule of work of up to five years, with a detailed description of activities of the first year and a preliminary schedule of activities of the following years.
c. CV of project director(s), which must demonstrate at least five years experience in excavation and at least two scientific publications related to excavations or excavation finds.
d. List of participants with their specialties and the CVs of the team's principal members. 
e. Information demonstrating the adequacy of technical infrastructure and the budget of the project, including funding sources.
f. Dates for the upcoming fieldwork season. The field season's duration must not exceed eight weeks in total, including any preparatory work for the site before the commencement of the investigation, as well as any post-fieldwork site maintenance.
g. Indication of the research area on an orthophoto map, clearly marking the precise area of exploration of the first year and providing approximate markings for the areas of subsequent fieldseasons. For surface surveys, the total area of the research project must not exceed 30,000 stremmata. 
h. A description of the research methodology. 
i. Information concerning the protection status of the research area (declared archaeological site, buffer zones etc.)
j. Documentation regarding the property status of the area to be excavated/ surveyed. According to Greek Law, systematic excavation is prohibited on privately owned land, except for limited trial trenches with the landowner’s permission). For surface or geophysical surveys, the owners of the land to be surveyed must be notified.
k. For field projects conducted in collaboration (synergasias) with the Archaeological Service, a memorandum of understanding must be signed by the project directors and the directors of the collaborating institutions. Please refer to the guidelines for drafting a memorandum of collaboration.
l. For coring/soil sampling requests, please clearly mark the areas of sampling must be clearly marked on a map. 

Requests seeking approval of an extension of a continuing project, for up to five years, must include the following information, in addition to the above:

• A comprehensive report detailing the activities and outcomes of the preceding research period, including accompanying plans and photographs. The report should offer an integrated overview of the project's activities and its contribution to enriching archaeological data in the broader area. 

• Progress made on the study and publication of results from previous years, along with a relevant schedule for the upcoming research period. Copies of publications related to the project must be submitted to the appropriate Ephorates of Antiquities and the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and/or the Directorate of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Antiquities.

• Correlation of the proposed research area with the areas previously surveyed/excavated on a digital orthophoto map.

• A study or technical report on the consolidation and conservation of exposed antiquities. The care for exposed antiquities is the responsibility of the excavator and the excavating institution, and is considered a prerequisite for the approval of any request. Conservation, consolidation, and restoration studies are to be submitted by Foreign Archaeological Schools, Greek Universities and other Research Institutions to the relevant Ephorates of Antiquities, the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities or/and the Directorate of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Antiquities, as well as to the relevant Directorates of the Ministry (Directorate of Restoration of Ancient Monuments, Directorate of Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments, Directorate of Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments). At the same time, the institution conducting archaeological research and the excavator have the responsibility for maintaining the site's good state of preservation and presentation, according to the site’s needs and particular characteristics (e.g. removal of vegetation, fencing, drainage). Failure to comply with these obligations may lead to the termination of the research project. 

• A financial report from the preceding research period.

- Ongoing Field Projects
Annual requests for the continuation of an already approved field project must include the following information:

a. A comprehensive report on the work conducted during the previous field season, accompanied by photographs and plans.
b. A detailed description of activities planned for the upcoming season.
c. A list of project members along with their affiliation and specialties.
d. Proposed dates for the upcoming field season (not to exceed eight weeks annually).
e. An orthophoto map of the area to be excavated/ surveyed, correlating it with areas previously explored.
f.  Actions taken for the protection, conservation and consolidation of exposed antiquities, if necessary.
g. Budget and funding sources.

- Study Seasons:
Projects conducting study seasons must submit their request by October 15 every year with the following information:

a. A comprehensive report on the work conducted during the previous field season, accompanied by photographs and plans and catalogues of finds that were studied.
b. A detailed description of activities planned for the upcoming season.
c. Proposed dates for the upcoming study season.
d.  A list of project members along with their affiliation and specialties.

The School is required to submit all applications for excavation and survey work to the relevant Ephorates and the Ministry of Culture by November 30 every year. The Ephorates forward their recommendation to the Ministry of Culture by December 31 of the same year. Applications for new projects are examined by the Central Archaeological Council (ΚΑΣ) and the final decision is issued by the Minister of Culture. Permits for ongoing projects are signed by the General Director of Antiquities, without being examined by the Council (for more information on the Central Archaeological Council, its members, meetings and agendas visit http://ksymvoulia.culture.gr/). Permits for study season are issued directly by the local Ephorates of Antiquities.

NOTE: Even though the School submits its requests to The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports in November, it does not usually receive replies from the Ministry until the end of April. In some cases, the replies are negative. Project directors who need to expend funds before this time are warned that they may have to cancel their plans if the Ministry denies permission. In this case, they are advised to make other arrangements in order not to pay penalties if air tickets are purchased earlier than the end of April.

Reporting

At the end of each season and by October 15 of each year all projects should submit to the School, via the Assistant to the Director, a report of activities (as a Word document, single-spaced, 12-point type throughout) accompanied by photos and/or maps. This report will be sent to the British School at Athens, the French School and the German Archaeological Institute for inclusion in Archaeological Reports and Archaeology in Greece Online/Chronique des fouilles en ligne. This report will also be translated into Greek and sent to the relevant Ephorates and Directorates of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports and to the Archaeological Receipts Fund (TAPA) in order to be published in the Archaiologikon Deltion (for the cost of the translation please see https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/excavators/general-information-for-fieldwork-projects/fees-for-fieldwork-projects).   Project directors are requested to send their text accompanied by high resolution images and plans to the Assistant to the Director via a file-sharing mode, such as Dropbox, WeTransfer etc. 

Ready to apply?

Make sure to read the application requirements above before submitting your online application. If you have questions about your application, you may contact the Chair of the Excavation & Survey Committee, Joanne Murphy (jmmurph2@uncg.edu).