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Bailey Young, associate professor of history, shows a drawing of 15th century Walhain-Saint-Paul Castle during his speech "How to Dig a Medieval Castle: Report from EIU´s Belgian Trenches" Wednesday afternoon in Room 3202 at Booth Library.

Eastern students aid ancient castle dig in Belgium

Honor students take a course at the Louvain-La-Neuve

By: Sabrina Madrigal/ Staff writer

Posted: 4/21/05

For the past five years, the honors program at Eastern has allowed students to go on archeological digs at a castle in Belgium.

Bailey Young, associate professor of history, is in charge of the program.

Young, who studied Merovingian archeology in Paris, came to Eastern in 1994 and together with Raymond Brulet, of the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, designed the four-week summer archeological dig.

"This is a very unique program that allows students from America to work side-by-side with students from Belgium and other foreign countries," Young said. "It is very difficult to excavate when you're not from a school like Brown or Princeton. That is why this is such a good opportunity for the students here at Eastern."

The castle that the group goes to every year is located at Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium. The course is offered with the cooperation of the department of archeology and the history of art of the Universite Catholique de Louvain.

The site, which has been protected by law since 1990, is badly damaged due in part to the French revolution and a wide array of owners.

"The site changed owners many times and was left and neglected," Young said. "After one of the owners died, he had no son to pass it on to, so he gave it to his daughter. After she was married, the site was given to her husband, and the castle has had an assortment of owners since then."

Bailey compares the architecture of this castle to that of the great pyramids.

"For this to have been built in the 13th century is truly amazing," Young said. "It stands for 200 years that are not represented in any archeological history."

Students will learn the basic training and techniques of excavation and how to properly record their findings. Along with the digs, students will attend weekly lectures and laboratory visits, and they must turn in a written report at the end of the session.

Enrollment for the program gives priority to undergraduate honor students or other Eastern undergraduates with approval from the director of the Honors Program.