Caitlin Lobl ’16, from Springfield, Ohio, was selected to participate in The Black Friary Community Project summer session in County Meath, Ireland after receiving the Nancy L Benco Archaeological Research Fund scholarship. Lobl has been excavating the buried remains of a 13th Century Dominican Friary while receiving college credit from the Irish Archaeological Field School. The session runs from Jul. 19-Aug. 22.

Lobl was accepted to the program based on recommendations from Professor and Chair of History and Director of Archaeology Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom, and because of her demonstrated leadership as the assistant field director at Wittenberg’s Nearby Archaeology program. Brooks Headstrom said Lobl has impressed program coordinators at the dig and expects her to return to the program next summer. Brooks Hedstrom also plans to visit the program herself in hopes of cultivating a long-term relationship between Wittenberg and the Irish Archaeological Field School.

Lobl first received the Wittenberg Department of History’s Nancy L Benco Archaeological Research Fund scholarship 2014 and participated in digs in the Chesapeake Region for the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, N.C., at Jefferson’s Monticello excavation site. She told The Springfield News Sun at the time, “I like to know the history behind things. And getting it frozen in time is what really draws me in." Lobl also participated in an archaeological dig on the site of the old Alpha Xi Delta house for Wittenberg in 2013.

Lobl is a history major with a minor in archaeology. She is a Dean’s List student, a member of Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society and a member of Mortar Board. She is member of the Wittenberg University Speleological Society- The Caving Club (WUSS) and plays in the Wittenberg University Symphonic Band. Lobl is also a two-time recipient of the Nancy L Benco Archaeological Research Fund scholarship.

Lobl’s photo from an Irish dig site was recently featured on the Jul. 24 blog post on Day of Archaeology.com.