Students will work at the excavation during weekdays from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm. This will include excavation, archaeological method and practice, pottery cleaning and archaeological drawing. Communal lunch will take place at the village of Mavromati next to the excavation site.

In the afternoon classes on archaeological method and technique will take place and on how historical evidence is extracted from archaeological objects. Selected literary texts and inscriptions will be read along with lectures on the history and archaeology of Messene and Messenia. Students who have no knowledge of Ancient Greek will read the texts of inscriptions in translation. If there are enough students enrolled with knowledge of Ancient Greek several Ancient Greek literary texts and inscriptions will be read in the original.

Scheduled fieldtrips will take students to the archaeological museum of Messenia, to the Frankish Castle of Kalamata and to the famed beaches of the Messenian Gulf for swimming and relaxation.

From Kalamata there is frequent bus connection to all parts of the Peloponnese for weekend travel and it is a 2.5 hours drive from Athens.