1. Mock Digs “Digging” into Archaeology in the Latin Classroom
Kristen Kenney Youngblood
Emma Hughes Perry (in absentia)

2. Who are we? Kristen Kenney Youngblood Emma Hughes Perry
MA Classics, FSU
Emma Hughes Perry
MA Classics, FSU

3. Who is Maclay?
Maclay School is an independent, non-sectarian college preparatory school dedicated to providing a liberal arts education, enabling each student to develop their inherent ability to the fullest extent with a balance of discipline and freedom.

4. What is the Maclay Mock Dig?
Maclay Faculty Excellence Grant
Initial Proposal:
Our wish was to create a mock archaeological excavation site that could be used both during the school year and as part of future summer camps. It would be used be used by all Latin classes, Middle School and High School, to demonstrate a practical application of the language and ancient culture. A mock site would help achieve our department’s goals of introducing interdisciplinary studies and project based learning into our Latin classes. We hope to incorporate Lower School classes into the program as well.

5. What is the Maclay Mock Dig?
Maclay Faculty Excellence Grant
Initial Proposal:
A mock excavation allows students to experience history hands on and allows for many different disciplines to work together. They would be learning mapping and graphing skills while making grids of the site, and real life archaeological techniques. After excavating, students would send their discoveries to an imaginary “lab” and receive “test results” back from it, which they would learn to interpret alongside the Forensics students. Students would research their discoveries, eventually writing a paper and presenting their findings.
It will teach students many different techniques, and demonstrate to them that the academic disciplines, far from being separate, are all intertwined

6. Excellence in Action: Part I
Preliminary steps, Middle School Needs
Needed to be able to be reused each quarter
Needed to be able to be excavated in a few days
Needed to have items 6th, 7th, and 8th graders could identify
Needed to tell a story
Integrated into 6th grade textbook being created by Mrs. Perry

7. Sources of Materials Land Artifacts Tools Allotted by school
Art Department donations
Latin Classes
Purchased
Tools
Borrowed

8. Creating the “Artifacts”

9. Creating the Middle School Site

10. Excellence in Action: Part II
Upper School Site
Needed to be able to integrate higher level Latin into the projects.
US Latin IV students chose to create a Tablet Room scenario for the MS students to excavate.
They wrote (in Latin) and edited fictitious Last Will and Testaments following the readings they had completed that quarter in class.
They then set up a scenario where a Tablet Room was destroyed by an earthquake.
They created the tablets and the various other artifacts and then destroyed them accordingly (and happily!).
They then buried them for excavation and decipherment by Mrs. Perry’s MS students.

11. Creating the Upper School Site

12. Creating the Upper School Site

13. Creating the Upper School Site

14. Creating the Upper School Site

15. Middle School Excavation and Evaluation
Divided into team with four positions
Surveyor
Artist
Photographer
Field Expert
One team would dig at a time while others work on tasks like surveying, photographing, and sifting soil in conjunction with the Science classes
Back in the room, students analyze the artifacts and determine what happened

16. Example of Student Write-Ups

17. Example of Student Write-Ups

18. Example of Student Write-Ups

19. Example of Student Write-Ups

20. Example of Student Write-Ups

21. Excellence in Action: Part III
2017 Excavations in Process
MS repeating the fire scenario
MS excavating the Tablet Room
US ongoing projects
Atrium – Latin IV
Greek site – Greek I
Baths – Latin I

22. Excellence in Action: Part III
2017 Planned Excavations
LS Dino Days
MS Paleontology Unit
MS History
US Forensics
US History

23. Future Goals Full Roman house Survey equipment Visiting active sites
Match integration with upper level science students (e.g. radiocarbon dating)

24. Bringing the World to Maclay
Mock Dig Lecturers
Archaeologists – SEAC
Anthropologists - FSU
Paleontologists - Maclay
Historians - FSU

25. Bringing Maclay to World
Mock Dig Outcomes
Archaeologists
Paleontologists
Historians
Connections with multiple departments
Broader context for Classics

26. Upper School Student Reviews
“The mock dig gave me first-hand experience of what archaeologists do every day.” – Evan, Class of ‘19
“The mock dig opened my eyes to classical archaeology and gave me experience of “hard” labor!” – Devin, Class of ‘19
“I thoroughly enjoyed it!” – Helen, Class of ‘18
“I felt like Indiana Jones!” – Andrew, Class of ‘18
“10 out of 10!  I would do it again!” – Dylan, Class of ‘18

27. Bringing a Mock Dig to Your School
Contact Us!
Kristen Kenney Youngblood:
Emma Hughes Perry:

28. Thank you for attending
Session #: 5-7
Presented by: Kristen Kenney Youngblood
*************************************************************************************
Please take a few minutes to evaluate this session at: