Archaeology students from the UB to do work experience practice on the land of the Faculty itself
Archaeology students from the UB will have the unusual opportunity, starting from the coming academic year, to do work experience practice on the land of the Faculty itself, located in the Raval district. When the faculties of Geography and History and of Philosophy were built on Montalegre Street, which were inaugurated in 2006, the preventive excavation works uncovered traces of pottery activity during the 17th-19th centuries at a site which has continuously documented archaeological reports since the 14th century. Now, the vice-rector for Arts, Culture and Heritage at the UB, Lourdes Cirlot; the district councillor for Ciutat Vella, Mercè Homs, and the director of Heritage, Museums and Archive of the Institute of Culture of the Barcelona City Council, Josep Lluís Alay, have signed an agreement so that archaeology students can carry out work experience practice on a municipally-owned land within the Victòria dels Àngels gardens, located inside the Faculty.
Archaeology students from the UB will have the unusual opportunity, starting from the coming academic year, to do work experience practice on the land of the Faculty itself, located in the Raval district. When the faculties of Geography and History and of Philosophy were built on Montalegre Street, which were inaugurated in 2006, the preventive excavation works uncovered traces of pottery activity during the 17th-19th centuries at a site which has continuously documented archaeological reports since the 14th century. Now, the vice-rector for Arts, Culture and Heritage at the UB, Lourdes Cirlot; the district councillor for Ciutat Vella, Mercè Homs, and the director of Heritage, Museums and Archive of the Institute of Culture of the Barcelona City Council, Josep Lluís Alay, have signed an agreement so that archaeology students can carry out work experience practice on a municipally-owned land within the Victòria dels Àngels gardens, located inside the Faculty.
The objective of the agreement is to excavate and study the site through a programmed project that allows developing research, from the archaeological intervention to the study of materials recovered, using the process as a proposal of practical teaching experience in archaeology, and restoring and dignifying the site as a civic space. Therefore, the archaeological work experience practice should be visible at all times to passers-by and explanatory panels should be placed, explaining the characteristics of the tasks to be carried out, as well as the structures that may be visible. If the result of the intervention makes it appropriate, open visits will be organized, aimed at disseminating the findings among the citizens.
This archaeological reserve is an opportunity for the University to develop a project of the highest scientific standards and contribute to the urban archaeology of the city of Barcelona. From an academic viewpoint, Archaeology degree students and Archaeology masterʼs degree students are basically the ones who will undertake the work experience practice. The students will have the possibility of knowing, first hand, a real case of urban archaeology on a multistratified site, by means of the practice of the work of excavation. This will be extremely useful in tasks that they will carry out in the future as professionals, and is connected with the professional side of Archaeology studies at the UB. Within the so-called third mission of the university (the transfer of knowledge), this project aims to launch a line of collaboration with the Archaeological Service of Barcelona, for the benefit of both institutions and the territory.