By: Elijah Smith, Class of 2026
Since opening its doors, the Butler University Ancient Mediterranean Cultures and Archaeology (AMCA) Lab staff has handled, refurbished, interpreted, and cataloged various historical artifacts from the Ancient World. Located on the third floor of Jordan Hall, the Lab has employed many student interns to help AMCA Director, Archaeologist, and Classics Professor, Lynne Kvapil with the collection. Dr. Lynne Kvapil. Students earn credit or receive an hourly wage for their work. Recently, I spoke with two of the interns: junior History Major and Classics Minor, Cole Himmelheber, and junior Anthropology, and Criminology and Psychology majors and Sociology minor, Emma Podvorec.
The day-to-day activities of the lab vary based on what is needed. The Lead Intern, Cole, delegates and makes sure that everything is running smoothly and efficiently. The list of projects can be extensive but rewarding ranging from simply updating information in the in-house database to working directly with an artifact. Currently, Emma is working with an Egyptian funerary cone which she describes, as “my baby. So I’ve been like translating the hieroglyphic setter on that and then on any other artifact from different museums across the world to see how that works.” Cole is working with Boaty, an ancient Egyptian model boat, to refurbish it. The antiques are stored at a specific temperature range. The interns carefully avoid chipping the wood or paint and constantly check for mold. They are also working on display cases for the front of the Archeology Lab to present artifacts to the Butler Community. As Cole describes it, “Once that is completed, it might be just outside the door, but it is a mobile display case. So, there are many opportunities to integrate the wider Butler community to what we’re doing. We can see a lot of our little treasures in here.”
The Lab doesn’t just deal with artifacts, they also develop and cultivate a variety of research texts for students to utilize. While every college has a library students can pull from the HAC department has a unique one in the AMCA Lab. Previous students have used lab resources for final papers/projects, Butler Summer Institute research, and thesis work. Curious? Just stop by the Lab or email Dr. Kvapil.