OUC’s Five-Year Partnership in the International Summer School of Archaeology “ArchLABS – Archaeological Heritage in Late Antique and Byzantine Sicily”
From 24 June to 6 July 2026, the Villa Romana del Casale at Piazza Armerina hosted more than 60 students, researchers, and tutors from universities and research institutions across Europe and beyond, including institutions in Bologna, Stockholm, Castilla-La Mancha, Oviedo, Athens, Cyprus, Kraków, and Enna, as well as the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the University of South Florida, Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, and the CNR ISPC.
The archaeological site was thus transformed into a truly international research laboratory, offering participants a unique field-based learning experience centred on the study of residential architecture in Late Antique and medieval Sicily.
Organised by the Department of History, Culture and Civilisation (DISCI) of the University of Bologna in collaboration with the CNR ISPC, the initiative forms part of a wider research project launched in 2022 under an agreement with the Morgantina Archaeological Park and the Villa Romana del Casale. It is supported institutionally by the Superintendency of Cultural and Architectural Heritage (Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA.) of Enna and the Municipality of Piazza Armerina, with the additional support of several local organisations, including the L. Villari Archaeological Group, Ambiens s.r.l., a renewable-energy company, and Agieo Viaggi.
The Open University of Cyprus (OUC), has been a member of the consortium since the very first year of the Summer School, marking in 2026 five years of continuous participation in this international initiative. This year, OUC was represented by Associate Professor Georgios Deligiannakis, Ms. Eva Georgiou, and Mr. Athanasios Zachos.
Excavation work has focused on the area immediately south of the sumptuous Roman villa, where a major Late Antique bath complex is currently being investigated beneath the remains of an extensive medieval settlement. This year’s campaign produced particularly significant results. Excavation of the natatio, the pool of the frigidarium, was completed; new structures and kilns associated with the medieval settlement were brought to light; and further areas dating to the fifth century AD were identified and documented, yielding a rich assemblage of coins, glass fragments, and marble revetment.
Beyond its important scientific discoveries and the programme of parallel cultural and educational activities, the Summer School provided an exceptional opportunity for academic exchange, practical training, and professional development. It facilitated the sharing of methodologies, expertise, and experience among research teams from different countries, while further strengthening international collaboration in archaeological research, with particular emphasis on residential architecture in Sicily from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages.
OUC’s five-year involvement in ArchLABS reflects its continuing commitment to international academic collaboration, field-based archaeological training, and the integration of research and education, while offering students of the BA Programme in Hellenic Culture valuable opportunities to gain first-hand experience of archaeological fieldwork in a genuinely interdisciplinary and international environment.