We are two archaeology students who spent four weeks in Ghana, from 3rd of January to 1st of February of this year. We were there on an exchange program with the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies. The first two weeks we were in separate cities, Denu and Dixcove, where we participated in an archaeological field school. Both of the field schools were connected to one of the many historical forts along the coast of Ghana, and the slave trade in general. We were given interesting insights into how things are done differently in archaeological fieldwork in Ghana, but also how things are similar despite the differences in climate and culture.
After the field school we were united back in Accra where we stayed in the International Student Hostel at the University of Ghana. We spent a few days at the Museum of Archaeology, located on campus. There we were trained in the treatment of the museum’s collection and museum management in general. On our days off we were able to visit Cape Coast where we visited some of the historical sites, as well as Kakum National Park where we walked across the rainforest canopy walkway.
We have learned a lot from our one-month stay in Ghana, both about archaeology and about the Ghanian culture.
-Une and Julia