Students Uncover Hands-On Experiences Through Matohasanaj Archaeological Project

Over the past few years, Sweet Briar College’s Archaeology and Ancient Studies department has been developing a hands-on research opportunity for students majoring in the program. This summer, the project kicked off with two students and a faculty member traveling to Albania for the program’s first excavation.

Led by Assistant Professor of Archaeology & Ancient Studies Dr. Erin Pitt, the Matohasanaj Archaeological Project is a professional research project that’s also coupled with a field school for students without excavation experience. The project brings students to Matohasanaj, a real excavation site located in Albania near the city of Tepelenë, to learn about archaeological field methods. Their work includes gaining understanding in the methods of documentation such as archaeological drawing, paperwork, photographing, working with artifacts, and cataloging; learning from industry experts like GIS digital typographers and LiDAR specialists; and digging up artifacts and the remnants of structures during an actual excavation.

“Students will get to interact with specialists and understand what happens with the ‘stuff’ once we take it out of the ground. How it’s studied, how it’s conserved, how we publish, and where it ultimately goes,” said Dr. Pitt, who led the two students who worked with her for three weeks in Albania.

The site, dating back to the Hellenistic time period, is located on a large hill near the national highway with a small village nearby, though no major exploration of the area has been done before. Once the Sweet Briar students and faculty arrived, they jumped right in.

“We immediately started at the site. We opened up two excavation areas, one for each student to be able to take supervision of as their own,” noted Dr. Pitt.

Abigail Huling ’25 and Chloe Burchett '26 excavate an archeological dig in Albania.

The student participants included Abigail Huling ’25 and Chloe Burchett ’26. For Huling, this was a part of her eight-week Honors Summer Research Project, “Seeking the Narrative: Archeological Excavation on Matohasanaj.” At the end of the project, she presented their findings to the campus community, and the results were surprising.

What they found has the potential to have been a much larger town or city rather than the fort or colony the site was suspected to be. Based on their findings at the two areas of the site they were focusing on, the team surmises the area is well-suited to have been a public civic center based on layout and positioning. They identified some areas that might have once been used for housing, which is next on the list for exploration when they return next summer with up to four additional students.

“My time at Matohasanj with Dr. Pitt and Professor Shametaj has been incredibly enlightening and wonderful for my development as an archaeologist,” Burchett remarked during the trip.

Chloe Burchett ’26 and Abigail Huling ’25 explore ruins in Albania.

“Being able to go on a dig with Sweet Briar professors and students feels very special. I feel like we’re really carving (quite literally!) for future students and excavators as we break ground here in Albania.”

Also on the horizon could be an oral history project with the local residents who were eager to share some background and context with the team during their trip. Burchett, who serves as Dr. Pitt’s student research assistant and therefore was involved in the grant proposals to fund this trip, may be involved in this project during future voyages. An Archaeology and Ancient Studies and Art History double major, Burchett is interested in comparing and contrasting early archaeological traveler accounts of the area to existing historical documentation.

On campus, the Matohasanaj Archaeological Project has also been incorporated into existing courses, serving as a case study for classes like “Cities and Urban Spaces in the Ancient World” which examines the different roles cities and townscapes have with and their connection to other smaller sites in the landscape.

For Archaeology and Ancient Studies majors, it also offers them a chance to fulfill course requirements in a unique and empowering way.

“Archaeology majors are required to do a field work component, so it felt like I was sort of completing that loop by being able to offer that as their own professor and not sending them somewhere else,” said Dr. Pitt. “With this program, our students can feel excited about being with their professor in a different kind of environment and actually doing hands-on research that they can use or develop for their own projects.”

Chloe Burchett ’26, Dr. Erin Pitt, and Abigail Huling ’25 explore Albania. The project was also supported by Sweet Briar adjunct instructor Mirgen Shametaj who served as the project coordinator and excavation field supervisor and was instrumental in planning the project, coordinating food and lodging logistics, and hiring workers for the site. The Albanian co-director, Dr. Sabina Veseli, served as our liaison while in the country and helped with obtaining permits and ensuring a successful dig. The project was funded by several faculty grants awarded to Dr. Pitt, including the Mednick Memorial Fellowship, and other institutional funding.

Reflecting on her time abroad, Huling noted, “This excavation has been an experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful, intelligent, and interesting people during my time working at Matohasanaj, and I have grown exponentially as an archaeologist and as an individual thanks to this trip.”

View this video for a bird’s-eye view of the excavation site.