While working on her senior research thesis in Central Spain, UMBC ancient studies and cultural anthropology major Sandra Gammon unearthed an ancient necropolis. Gammon had been working as part of a team of Spanish archeologists and international students through ArchaeoSpain, a non-profit organization based in Connecticut and Madrid. ArchaeoSpain was founded in 2000 with the goal of bringing people from all over the world to work alongside trained specialists. ArchaeoSpain teams, consisting of 10 people from around the world who join the local crew, have assisted in major discoveries at sites in Spain and Italy.

"Sandra and the other participants have been learning about archaeology while at the same time contributing to important research projects. Our joint Spanish-international teams have unearthed priceless information about Spain's ancient past," conveyed ArchaeoSpain director Mike Elkin.

Although excavation work is oftentimes slow and tedious, Gammon struck gold when she unearthed an Iron age/Celtic necropolis from the 5th century B.C. settlement in Pintia, Central Spain. A necropolis is a large cemetery belonging to an ancient city. Gammon discovered three graves.

"We worked through meals and afternoon siesta to finish the excavation before we had to leave," said Gammon. In the excitement, Gammon injured her left shoulder lifting buckets out of a trench in the beginning of the third week. She spent most of the remaining time either back in the Center or sitting in the field tents cleaning pottery shreds recovered from the excavations.

Gammon's excavation experience was part of her senior thesis research project, in which she is conducting a cultural analysis of the pre-Roman tribes of central Spain. She is using the information gathered archaeologically by the field school run by the Universidad de Valladolid, as well as information from modern scholarly resources and ancient accounts from the conquest of Spain.

For Gammon, her time in Spain was as much of a cultural experience as it was an intellectual one: "A local woman from down the street cooked our lunch and dinner every day, which was excellent," said Gammon. Connecting with people back home was tremendously difficult: "Our hour at the library once a week was the only Internet access we got and, for most of us, also the only time we got to communicate with our loved ones back home. We went into the nearest town, Peñafiel, every Monday to go grocery shopping and to the library." The town is very small: "Living in a village of about 40 families was quite an experience all on its own," Gammon relates. "Everyone knew everyone else, and they all knew who we were."

As for Gammon, her experience in Spain has only enhanced her passion for archaeology. "Having gone through that without losing enthusiasm only confirms for me that I want archaeology to be my career. My dreams, however, will keep me closer to home; I am more interested in Cultural Resource Management than Classics at this time. I hope to enter graduate school after graduation in pursuit of a master's degree in archaeology."

For more information about ArchaeoSpain visit their website; www.archaeospain.com.