About Us
The Ancient History and Archaeology Circle
The Ancient History and Archaeology Circle was founded in 1992 by a group of students at the newly inaugurated “1 Decembrie 1918” University in Alba Iulia who had a great interest in archaeology. Today there are over a hundred students in the Circle from cities throughout the country, as well as various professors, museum curators and other professionals in the field of archaeology. Many members of the Circle have gone on to become well known and widely published members of the Romanian archaeological community. Every year since 1995 the Circle has co-hosted the annual national student conference on archaeology and history “Sesiunea Nationala a Cercurilor Stiintifice Studentesti” and co-edited the nationally accredited journal “Buletinul Cercurilor Stiintifice Studentesti”. In recent years, members of the Circle with staff of the university have designed and set up a permanent museum exhibition at the university to help educate future students as well as creating several public archaeology programmes to educate the public about archaeology and invite them to participate in this field.
Our Objectives:
We are organised as a round table of equals. Each brings to the group his or her own ideas and findings. Membership in the Circle is open to anyone interested in archaeology, be they students, professionals, or the general lay public. Some of our common objectives are:
• Dissemination of our discoveries.
• Sharing information regarding archaeology and ancient history.
• Modernisation of archaeological research and discussion.
• Promotion of student participation in the professional academic domain.
• Improving the academic level of students by providing opportunities for workshops, guest speaker presentations and field trips.
• Striving to raise public interest in archaeology and educate the public about archaeological research and the responsibilities of archaeologists.
Our Activities:
The Circle and it’s members are involved in numerous activities. At most meetings, members of the Circle present and discuss their current research as well as reviews of books, articles & documentaries. Every month the Circle invites guest speakers to give short presentations on current excavations, discoveries and fields of study peripheral to archaeology (e.g. geoarchaeology, anthropology) and organises training workshops where participants are introduced to specialised skills of use to archaeologists. When weather is good we frequently go on group field trips to archaeological sites, historic monuments and museums. Many student members of the Circle take part in research and salvage excavations run by our professional members. Every year, in the Fall, the Circle co-organises a national student conference on the topics of archaeology, history and museum studies. At the same time, our annual journal is released containing proceedings of the previous years conference and articles by members of the Circle.
Our Future:
Now in our 17th year, as we have grown to include members and partners throughout Romania, we seek to strengthen our existing contact with colleagues abroad as well as make new contact with other organisations and individuals throughout the world. It is our hope that by opening communications with other organisations and individuals with similar interests that we can further broaden our knowledge of current archaeology, and at the same time, share our experiences and disseminate our discoveries and ideas to a wider group of colleagues. To this end we extend our greetings to anyone involved in the fields of archaeology or ancient history and we invite you to participate in our up coming student conference to be held in March 2009 here in Alba Iulia. Please feel free to contact us for more details about our conference or simply to introduce yourself. We look forward to meeting you in the near future.
The Asociation of Students of Archaeology (Romania)
The ASA is a national association dedicated to improving the level of communication between students of archaeology at different universities as well as with professional archaeologists; keeping students of archaeology informed about important events and issues in archaeology; and to promoting archaeology in the university education system.
The ASA was initially formed in 1995 by a group of students and professors from Cluj, Sibiu, Iasi and Alba Iulia, all with a passion for ancient history and archaeology. It's function was to exchange scientific ideas and open academic discussion between students at different universities. In 2006 the association was restructured to meet the changed needs and objectives of todays students by ammending the associations statutes, reorganising the executive body, updating general objectives, as well as short term and long term plans. In late 2006 ASA began to increase it's connections with numerous NGOs and governmental institutions such as museums and universities to form partnerships for the exchange of information and collaboration on projects.
The ASA has members now in university cities throughout Romania, including Tg Mures, Alba Iulia, Cluj, Iasi, Sibiu, Bucharest, Oradea, Timisoara, Targoviste and Pitesti, as well as numerous colleague members working in the domain as museum researchers and university professors who come from even more cities.
Beginning in 2007, the association has began to hold various training courses (of both long and short duration), lecture seminars and student conferences, always in collaboration with local student groups and NGOs.
Contact information
Conference inquiries may be directed by email to:
The conference organizing committee may also be reached at:
Cercul de Istorie Veche si Arheologie
Catedra de Istorie
Universitatea „1 Decembrie 1918” Alba Iulia
str. N. Iorga, nr. 11-13
Alba Iulia, Romania
RO-510009
Tel: [+40] 258-811412
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