In June 2025, I traveled to Italy to work as an archaeological excavator on the Casa della Regina Carolina Project at Pompeii in order to gain hands-on fieldwork experience and expand my knowledge of the classical world. This was my first archaeological excavation and my first time traveling anywhere in Europe, so it was truly a summer of adventure!  

For four weeks, I assisted with the systematic excavation and documentation of the large house and garden, along with helping to clean and sort artifacts. I learned all about the proper methodology of stratigraphic excavation, how to use equipment such as a total station to properly survey and document the site, and how to process and classify different types of materials found while excavating. My proudest moment this summer was finding not just one but two rare artifacts that turned out to be definitively dateable.  

Additionally, I had the opportunity to travel on the weekends with fellow members of the project to nearby archaeological sites such as Herculaneum and the Villa Arianna, as well as museums such as the Archaeological Museum of Naples and the Gallerie d'Italia in Naples. One day we even took a ferry to the island of Capri! We also had the opportunity to tour other parts of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii such as the recently unearthed Casa del Tiaso (House of Thiasus).  

As a Classics major, I had studied many of these archaeological sites in classes but seeing them in person was incredible. Working on this project allowed me to connect with and befriend academics from around the world. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work at such a historic site!