On Monday, Nov. 12, 2007, in the Morgan Room of Poling Hall, senior history and classics major Seth Leitner had the distinct honor of being the first Monmouth College student to present at the College’s regular archaeology lectures.

Entitled “Excavating in Romania: The Porolissum Forum Project,” Leitner’s presentation recounted his experiences this past summer as one of nearly a dozen participants at an excavation in Porolssum, which is located in present-day Transylvania and is considered to be one of the most well-preserved sites for archeological digging in Romania. Leitner was recommended to participate in the month-long program by Thomas J. Sienkewicz, Leitner’s advisor and Capron Professor of Classics.

Essential topics covered by Leitner included a general history of the region, an introduction to the site itself and an explanation of his involvement in the program, and Leitner provided a display of numerous PowerPoint photography slides to create visual reference points for each of his observations. One of the major discoveries Leitner and his excavation crew uncovered was that of a water storage tank possibly used by an ancient society.

The entire project consisted of three weeks of excavation at the chief location, as well as an additional fourth week spent traveling around the area.

According to Leitner, reaction to the presentation has been overwhelmingly positive, as he commented, “My professors were really excited about it, and they thought I did a good job. I think it turned out well.”

For Leitner, this whole opportunity is more than just a once in a lifetime occurrence, but the first chapter in what he hopes will pan out into years worth of learning, as Leitner plans to eventually attend graduate school to study classical archaeology and eventually teach archaeology, mythology and classical languages at the collegiate level. Leitner remarked, “Archaeology is ever-changing,” and this simple statement reflects his belief that the entire field of archaeology is constantly progressing and that one’s beliefs and assumptions about a culture are always in continual fluctuation.

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