Archaeology - ROMANIA
Project Information for Volunter Archaeology in Romania - Bordusani

Archaeological Volunteering Projects in Bordusani-Popina

Bordusani-Popina is one of the favourite archaeological sites of the volunteers because of its wild beauty. Bordusani is situated on Ialomita Island, on the lower course of the Danube, surrounded by lakes and forests which are abundant with fish and wild animals.

The site was discovered in 1968 as a direct result of the research of The Romanian Academy in the 60s. It is just one of many ancient settlements in the area and it is predicted that there are a wealth of habitats and artifacts dating back to 5000 BC just waiting to be discovered.

There are several clues indicating that the people from this area were not living in isolated communities. For example there is no silex in the close area, but many silex tools have been found. Probably it came from the north and south of the Danube (what is now Bulgaria and the southern part of Romania). There is even evidence of connections between the people from this area and the Middle East. For example, many innovations which originated in the Middle East (what is now Iraq) are present in Popina.

The first digs on the surface revealed the remains of ancient Dacian houses (from 2000 years ago). Currently the level of the digging is dated to approximately 4500 BC which is called the Gumelnita culture. This is a long term project, usually starting each year around the beginning of August and continuing until the end September.

The various digs in this area are organized by a team of archaeologists from the Romanian History National Museum (M.N.I.R.) and Ialomita History County Museum. Owing to the importance of this site and the work being undertaken, Professor Dragomir Popovici, (Director of the Archaeology Department from M.N.I.R.) coordinates the whole operation. In this dig the most important multidisciplinary research from Romania is happening, involving archeozoology (mammels and fish), sedimentology, micromorphology, physical anthropology, and many others.

From 2007 specialists from England, France and Germany will be coming to assist in the work, as it is hoped that this settlement will be the focal archaeological site of the Neolithic age in southeast Europe.

Projects Abroad volunteers work in Bordusani for a total of four weeks, split into two sessions of a fortnight each. The work which is done on the site depends on the weather. If the weather is good, then the primary task is the dig itself. If there is bad weather then the archaeologists and volunteers mark, wash or reconstruct pottery pieces which have already been discovered. The digging technique used is removing one layer after another - after recording all the data from each one.

Daily timetable:

07:00 Morning session begins
09:00 Breakfast
09:30 Work continues
14:00 Lunch
15:30 Afternoon session begins
18:00 Work finishes
On Saturdays the digging is done until 2 PM and Sunday is free.