2025 Bulgaria Apollonia/Messarite:
Hellenistic & Roman Period Excavations
Open
June 1-28, 2025
Archaeology
Dr. Angela Pencheva; Dr. Krastina Panayotova & Dr. Teodora Bogdanova
$4,950
Apr 4, 2025
Apr 13, 2025, at 8:30am Pacific Time
8 Semester Credit Units
This program provides accommodation, breakfast & lunch. Students are responsible for their own dinners. Sozopol is a major tourist destination that offers many excellent & affordable restaurants.
OVERVIEW
Ancient Apollonia Pontica (present-day Sozopol, Bulgaria) is one of the oldest towns on the western Black Sea Coast. The city, founded by Miletian colonists around 610 BCE, was named Apollonia Pontica in honor of the patron deity of Miletus – Apollo. Apollonia became an autonomous and strong independent polis, as well as an important trade center between Ancient Greece and Thrace. Thanks to its strong navy and naturally protected harbors, Apollonia kept control of the major maritime and terrestrial merchant routes along the western Black Sea Coast for several centuries. Despite numerous invasions and attacks, the city survived the period of the Great Migration (4th – 7th century CE) and entered the Middle Ages as a focal point of long-lasting Byzantine-Bulgarian conflicts.
The project is focused on the sector of Messarite, located southwest of Sozopol, approx. 2 km from the center of the Old Town. During the initial survey of the area, 29 different features were identified, including walls, buildings and burials. Excavations at the Messarite sector will help in understanding the interaction between city center and its immediate outposts. It will shed light on the economic development of Apollonia Pontica in the Hellenistic period.
Hearth exposed at the site
Excavation of Roman era Sarcophagi
Stansing architecture at Messarite
Drone view of excavation area
Students taking notes
Excavations at Messarite
Student excavating at the site
Measuring site for plan making
Students working at the site
Instructors
All field school directors are experts in their field and passionate about their work. To discuss the suitability of this program for your career goals – whether within or outside academia – you are invited to contact the directors directly. For a broader discussion which CFS program to choose, you are welcome to contact our staff directly – you can do that through our “Contact Us” page.
Dr. Angela Pencheva
Balkan Heritage Foundation
Dr. Krastina Panayotova
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Dr. Teodora Bogdanova
New Bulgarian University
Testimonials
This is a new CFS program. No student evaluations are available.
student fees (tuition)
what is covered
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DEPOSIT IS PART OF TOTAL TUITION COST
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Costs of Instruction
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Room & Board (excluding dinners)
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Cost of Academic Credit Units
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Cost of Health & Liability Insurance
read before you pay
- Application: You must apply online for this program – application is free
- Deposit: A $300 nonrefundable deposit (part of the total tuition cost) is required to secure a space in the program
- Credit Card Fee: Payments with credits cards incur 2.5% processing fee
- Late Fee: A $100 Late Fee will be added to the program costs if tuition is not paid in full by payment deadline
- Cancelation Policy: Carefully read our Cancelation Policy before committing to attend our programs
- Trip cancellation Insurance: Trip cancellation insurance is not provided by CFS. Such policies have changed due to Covid 19. If you wish to purchase an insurance policy that covers pandemic contingencies, explore Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) plans. Insuremytrip or Travel Guard are possible websites where you may explore different insurance policies
Accommodations
Students will stay at Hotel Polina Beach, which offers comfortable rooms with two to three beds, air conditioning, a minibar, TV and Wi-Fi. The hotel is in the new part of Sozopol, a 15 min walk to the Old Town Quarter, the Archaeological Museum. It is also a 15 min walk to the archaeological site.
diet
This program provides daily breakfast and lunch (lunch pack for the field trips), as well as the official welcome and farewell dinners. Students are responsible for their own dinner. Sozopol offers a variety of restaurants that can meet everyone’s preferences and dietary requirements – from fast food options to cozy gourmet restaurants.
travel information
We suggest you hold purchasing airline tickets until six (6) weeks before the program begins. Natural disasters, political changes, weather conditions & a range of other factors may require the cancelation this field school. CFS typically makes a final Go/No Go decision about six weeks before the field school begins. To protect students from potential financial loss, we urge students to purchase airline tickets only six weeks prior to program beginning.
The meeting point is at 7:30pm, at the Hotel Polina Beach (Sozopol). The nearest airport is Burgas International Airport (BOJ), about 30 miles from Sozopol. Many bus lines connect Sozopol with both Burgas and Sofia. Students who are interested in organized transfer from the airport to the site, the project team will help arrange and coordinate such transfer for a fee – to be discussed during orientation.
visa information
There are no special visa requirements for U.S. citizen travelling to Bulgaria, as long as they do not stay longer than 3 months. Passport’s expiration date should exceed the stay by at least 3 months.
Citizens of other countries are asked to check the embassy website page at their home country for specific visa requirements.
Meeting Point
| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| June 1, 2025 | 7:30pm | Hotel Polina Beach |
Safety
Our primary concern is with education. Traveling and conducting field work involves risk. Students interested in participating in our programs must weigh whether the potential risk is worth the value of education provided. While risk is inherent in everything we do, we do not take risk lightly. We engage in intensive review of each field school location prior to approval. Once a program is accepted, we review and monitor each program annually to make sure it complies with all our standards and policies, including student safety.
Students attending our international programs are covered by a comprehensive Health Insurance policy that includes physical illness or injury, mental or chronic conditions. There are no deductible and 100% of costs are covered up to $250,000. In addition, we provide Political & Natural Disaster Evacuation policy, which allow us to remove students from program location if conditions change.
Students attending our domestic programs (within the US) must have their own health insurance and provide proof upon enrollment. Program directors are familiar with local authorities and if in need of evacuation, local emergency services and/or law enforcement will be notified and activated.
We have an explicit and robust harassments & discriminations policies. If students feel they cannot discuss personal safety issues with program staff, they are welcome to call the CFS emergency hotline and talk directly with CFS staff members.
Call (+1 562 584-0761) or email (info@fieldsciences.org) if you have questions about the safety of any program.