Archaeoastronomy Programme

For some, archaeoastronomy is a curiosity. For others, it becomes a calling — a way of seeing the world through the dialogue between monuments and the sky. This long-form programme is designed for those who wish to go deeper: to build expertise step by step, to gain confidence in theory and method, and to ultimately practice archaeoastronomy or skyscape archaeology with clarity, rigor, and imagination.

Over the course of 15 months, you will embark on a sustained learning journey that integrates the full cycle of weekend courses and expands far beyond them.

You will:

• Gain a strong grounding in the fundamentals — learning to measure structures, evaluate orientations, and apply the essential toolkit of archaeoastronomical method.
• Develop advanced fieldwork skills — learning how to adapt measurement practice to challenging or ambiguous features, and how to identify the celestial objects most relevant to a given monument.
• Deepen your understanding of alignment interpretation — including lunar standstills, star phasing, planetary tracking, and the delicate balance between coincidence and intentional design.
• Explore the intellectual history of the field — from antiquarian speculation to scientific development, from esoteric fascination to academic maturation.
• Cultivate critical frameworks for separating robust scholarly conclusions from wishful thinking or overstretching of data.
• Learn to see archaeoastronomy not only as a science of measurement, but as a study of human orientation: how societies structured meaning through the sky.

This programmes includes all 2026 courses and, in addition, the following:

1. Five live small-group seminars, so we can support your independent study.
2. An exclusive advanced-topic course in December (date TBD), available only to programme participants.
3. Additional learning resources, curated reading suggestions, and access to recordings for the full duration of the programme.
4. A supportive community of peers who share your enthusiasm — future collaborators, colleagues, and skywatchers.

By the end of this extended training, you will be prepared not only to understand the field of archaeoastronomy, but to contribute to it: to conduct your own analyses, to engage critically with published research, and to stand in the field — on a solstice morning or beneath a star-laden sky — with both reverence and expertise.

Participants will be expected to do a small research project, with support from the teachers, and submit an academic report on it by the end of the course (April 2027) in order to receive their certification of completion.