Fieldwork
Student Field Opportunities
Dr. Ebert is a co-director of the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) Project. The BVAR field school offers annual training in the essential aspects of contemporary interdisciplinary archaeology. Field research carried out at several sites in the Belize River Valley, including Cahal Pech and Xunantunich, provides students with hands-on experience in excavation and lab techniques, site survey, recording, archaeological drawing, and artifact processing. In addition to participating in the field school’s holistic program of archaeological field work, students attend lectures on scientific techniques used in the recovery of archaeological data, and on current archaeological research in Belize.
If you are interested in learning about how to participate in the BVAR field school, you can find more information here.
Ongoing Field Projects
Preclassic Cahal Pech E-Group
Recent in investigations at Cahal Pech focused on excavating a Middle Preclassic (~700-500 BC) E-Group assemblage. Excavations conducted from 2017-2019 exposed a previously unidentified building, designated as Structure B8, which is the largest, most elaborate Middle Preclassic construction yet documented at the site. Documentation of Structure B8, along with previous excavation data, allows us to develop is helping us to build a precise chronology for the development of monumentality and its relationship with the development of elite dynastic traditions at Cahal Pech. You can read about our findings here.
Terminal Classic Cahal Pech Palace
During the 2019 field season, our excavations at Cahal Pech, Belize focused on clearing terminal architecture for conservation in Plaza D, part of the site’s Late/Terminal Classic palatial complex. Excavations in Str. D2 exposed a vaulted room, which was buried and sealed prior to the construction of terminal architecture. Sitting at bench level within the room was a dense, layered deposit containing over 2000 pieces of including polychrome vessels, and faunal remains. Future work will document the process of the deposit’s creation within Str. D2-sub, and its relationship to subsequent palatial construction to understand the dynamics of ritual activity during the Terminal Classic decline of Cahal Pech.
Terminal Classic Xunantunich
At Xunantunich, we have been conducting an on-going, multiyear project focused on documenting and conserving several structures within the Xunantunich central. Group B, an elite courtyard, and to Plaza A-III, the northern palace group, have been one of this research since 2016. Work in Group B has exposed several previously unknown enclosing structures, extended our understanding of the size and layout of earlier components of the residential group, and documented extensive Terminal Classic period (AD 750-900) peri-abandonment deposits. Future excavations and conservation work will take place in Group B in upcoming field seasons.
