Once you're there, you're hooked!

I attended MRP's 2011 field season, and it was entirely new to me. I had no idea what to expect, and I was so afraid that my first experience excavating would be over my head.

Imagine getting off of the bus in a foreign country, feeling completely insecure, and... a group of forty of your best friends pops out of the woodwork to greet you. This is exactly how it felt to arrive at MRP, and I didn't even know a single person there! The participants are so warm and laid-back, and the staff is incredibly supportive. They're always willing to be cornered after dinner and answer your questions until they're blue in the face. Being at MRP is like having an entire set of private tutors who are all experts in their field, and will also drink a beer with you.

As far as actual archaeological experience, it runs the gamut from survey to mapping to test pits to architecture to human burial. If you express ANY interest in a particular archaeological topic, they will do their best to make sure that you get to try it first-hand, even if you're only around for a two-week session.

Long story short: it's a phenomenal learning experience, and you'll be lifetime friends with the other volunteers as soon as you meet them. I guarantee that even after a two-week session, you'll return home feeling a) like a real archaeologist and b)like you are completely hooked and can't wait to go back.