Vakaris Paulauskas

In spring 2023, I was fortunate to take a class with Professor Bloy, when he brought to my attention the archaeological excavation that he is co-directing in Italy. The Vacone project, run by Rutgers University since 2012, is uncovering two superimposed ancient Roman structures: a Republican era building that had been built over by an Imperial era Villa. The site is located ca. 30 km north of Rome. Thanks to my Haines-Morris travel scholarship from the Department of Classics, I was able to participate in this excavation. During the four weeks of excavation, we had three free weekends that allowed us to travel throughout Italy. I went every weekend to the Citta Eterna or, as most know it, the city of Rome. Not only was I able to experience traveling around my favorite city, but every week when I came back I was able to learn more about the “hands on” part of history that had eluded me while studying in class. The excavation was hard, but once the ruins had been uncovered it was very rewarding.