INTERNATIONAL
INTERNSHIPS ABROAD
Introduction | France | Germany
| Russia | Spain
Internship in Russia by Monica Altstatt
I am a double major in Russian and History at UAH and very interested in archaeology as well. My internship site was in Southern Russia, in the North Black Sea region, 90 miles northeast of Rostov-on-Don. I spent four weeks there and this was an incredible experience which I will never forget. Together with other students I participated in the expedition investigating burial mounds on a Khazar era fortress "Golden Hills". This expedition was organized by Rostov University, the Donskaya Archeological Journal and Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomads (CSEN, USA).
The Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomads (CSEN) was established to preserve archaeological remains and to promote ethnographic research on the nomadic (and sedentary) cultures who lived or are currently living in the vast steppe lands that stretch from southern Russia through Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, western Mongolia, and northern China. Although the contemporary nomads are limited to specific regions, the steppes as a whole are extremely rich in archaeological remains dating from 4,000 B.C. and earlier.
Our group consisted of students working under the guidance of experienced Russian archaeologists. We lived in tents. After an early breakfast we would work until lunch. The afternoons were used for lectures on regional archaeology. This was the rainy season which hampered our work. We learned the proper procedures of excavation and cleaning of individual artifacts. We uncovered a trench that eventually led to a burial site in one of the quadrants. We found an infant with an adult, and the archaeologists supposed the mother died in childbirth. We had a lecture about the history of this site. We learned that the burials were completely unconnected to the stonework we found. The stonework was believed to be a house foundation and not segments of a large wall.
We had an opportunity to go on an excursion to the Tanais historical site and museum. Tanais, a Khazar city, has been an excavation site for the past 50 years. It has a full-size model house from the old era. The bridge to the ruins is constructed as the Romans did long ago. It is notched and tied together, so that in case of an attack, it could be disassembled instead of burned. Wood was scarce in this part of Russia.
We visited a Cossack museum in Novocherkassk where we were able to study the history and unique culture of the Don Valley region and the life of the early Cossacks. We also visited a Greek/Russian Orthodox cathedral. The artwork was absolutely amazing. I also had an opportunity to visit Friendship University in Sochi on the Black Sea, where I did some computer work. While in Sochi we explored a few museums before going into the mountains to visit a Greek women's monastery and a Greek Orthodox cathedral.
I thank the UAH Foreign Language Department and their faculty for an opportunity of a lifetime. The language immersion itself was well worth the experience. This internship was very advantageous and worthwhile and I would highly recommend it to all foreign language students.