Ararat Plain Southeast Archaeological Project (APSAP)
@apsap
University of Hong Kong and Armenian Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography collaborative fieldwork in the Vedi River valley
New introductory HKU course ARCL1001 on Global Archaeology debuts, and ARCL2020 Archaeological Fieldwork and CCHU9080 for academic year 2026/27. No background needed – explore global wonders, dig into real archaeological sites, or rethink material culture with us – All you need is curiosity.
The final, Day 5, of "Digging the Past (ACT260321)"! HKU Academy for the Talented Dr Shengyu Wang, an experienced curator for museums shared about the behind-the-scenes decisions. Afterwards, our students made their own exhibitions based on their finds from Day 3 with beautiful displays!
Highschoolers from the HKU Academy of the Talented explored the next steps of archaeology beyond just excavation! On Day 4 of “Digging the Past!” they performed ceramic conservation and visited the Palace Museum. Friday is the last day of teaching, stay tuned!
Day 3 of "Digging the Past! Archaeology and Technology for Understanding the Humans Who Came Before Us"-Secondary school students built their own archaeological contexts, and used clay to sculpt their own pottery vessels! Look at their marvelous oinochoes, amphoras, animal jars and more!
Day 2 of summer course "Digging the Past! Archaeology and Technology for Understanding the Humans Who Came Before Us"! We visited Wun Yiu Klin to see the remains of an animal-driven grinder and pottery fragments. Students learnt about Archaeometallurgy and lithics analysis with the hands-on designs!
Day 1 of HKU Academy for the Talented summer course 'Digging the Past! Archaeology and Technology for Understanding the Humans Who Came Before Us'! Secondary school students began by doing a simulated dig, learning different branches of archaeology, and recreating an archaeological site digitally!
Read new student blog by Pang Ching about joining an archaeological field project in Armenia! Follow the journey from the first days in the lab to working at the excavation site, learning archaeological methods, and becoming part of an international research team. openarchaeology.org/armenia/2026...
Surface survey completed, APSAP has moved into full excavation! After clearing weeds and loosening the topsoil, students sieved soil to sort out pottery, stone and bones. At the end of each day, they swept and vacuumed the site. The process was so fascinating—You never know what you'll find.
Back on the slopes for the 2026 field season with the APSAP Project and #HKU ARTH2110 students! Our first day in the landscape of Armenia was all about pottery ID, surface surveying, teamwork, and careful searching for new material remains. A great start to the season!
Celebrating the vibrant HKU Student Learning Festival on 29 April 2026. Displaying students’ work from the course CCHU9080 ‘Dead People’s Things: Excavating the Past with Archaeology’, our booth presented a fusion of archaeology and VR technology on campus. commoncore.hku.hk/event/studen...
HKU Students had a fun hands-on learning experience in the Common Core course CCHU9080 Dead People’s Things: Excavating the Past with Archaeology. Students explored the meaning and value of everyday objects in creative ways and crafted unique artefacts with #play-doh. commoncore.hku.hk/cchu9080
Secondary School students, join us at HKU Academy for the Talented this summer and do archaeology with your own hands. Register: talented.hku.hk/hku_programm... Partially inspired by a summer programme co-developed by Armenian Heritage Development Foundation: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
HKU Faculty of Education colleagues’ articles about supporting grad students in Writing for Publication in @berj-2025.bsky.social / @livunipress.bsky.social : bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/... doi.org/10.1017/aap....
✨ Thank you for visiting us at Jumpstarter 2026 ✨ We were excited to be part of this dynamic and innovative event and to show how our interactive XR tools can support archaeological research and excavation. More from APSAP coming soon. Stay tuned! 🔗 www.jumpstarter.hk
Our publication 'From the field to the museum: engaging young Armenians in the complete life-cycle of archaeological artifacts' in @tandfresearch.bsky.social has 700+ views! It is about an educational program in partnership with Armenian Heritage Development Foundation. doi.org/10.1080/2051...
The Faculty of Arts, HKU is recruiting a Lecturer in the interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and Digital Technologies programme. If you’re excited about interdisciplinary teaching and digital innovation in the arts, consider applying! jobs.hku.hk/en/job/53476...
Secondary school students: Join the HKU Academy for the Talented summer program to uncover the human past through the objects and spaces left behind. You’ll conduct excavations, analyze finds, and create an exhibit! Come dig, discover, and bring the past to life! talented.hku.hk/hku_programm...
🎉New article by HKU’s Prof. Lukas Liu et al: “Mapping Evidence-Based XR Experiences in Archaeology Education: A Systematic Review,” explores #XR in #archaeology education and the importance of instructional design. doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... related to: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/jae/vol8/iss...
Congrats to Mechanical Engineering on the opening of HKU Engineering MSc Student Commons on 11 Feb 26—a dedicated space to Meet, Study, Collab. We are delighted to be able to work together each year with Mechnical Engineering Masters students on their dissertations. www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5pz...
Thrilled to share that Hayk Azizbekyan delivered a compelling presentation on 3D MR/AR with AI in Archaeological Fieldwork at the Hong Kong Association for Digital Humanities 2026 Conference! The event at CUHK explored AI, multimodality, and digital humanities across diverse fields. 2026.hkadh.org
Congratulations to our team, including PJ Cobb, E Cobb, H Azizbekyan, A Petrosyan, and B Gasparyan, for HKU Research Output Prize 2024-2025, the article: "Defending the Vedi River Valley of Armenia" by Bulletin of @asor-research.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1086/732090
Thanks CTTN for featuring our APSAP project! We're excited to share updates on our 4th season of fieldwork in the Vedi River Valley, Armenia in summer 2025. CTTN is an interdisciplinary network focused on #Caucasus #archaeology and the past. Subscribe here: 🔗 sway.cloud.microsoft/CrhnJsdAZ0Ha...
📢Our Open Access article “Designing the Ideal MR Headset for Archaeological Fieldwork” is published in #XR Extended Reality by @springernature.com ! We present our suggestions for building a better MR headset for fieldwork. 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/978-...
How is lidar reshaping how we talk about the past? An open-access article in @saa-aap.bsky.social shows how recent lidar work gets recast as finding “lost cities.” Lidar is revolutionizing archaeological mapping, but responsible storytelling matters as much as the data. doi.org/10.1017/aap....
✨Thank you, SIGGRAPH Asia 2025! ✨Thanks for visiting our booth and exploring our project, “Immersive Interaction & Interpretation of Ancient Spatial & Shape Data”. It was inspiring to share how XR tools support archaeological research via hands-on XR experience and engaging conversations with you.
Our project is exhibited at SIGGRAPH Asia 2025! 🎉Come join us to explore how interactive XR tools can support archaeological research. 📅Dec 15–18, 2025 📍HK Convention and Exhibition Centre Article: doi.org/10.1145/3761... 🎥Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSqv... 🔗Event: asia.siggraph.org/2025
So thrilled to see our paper “Defending the Vedi River Valley of Armenia” published by @asor-research.bsky.social & @uchicagopress.bsky.social reached 2200+ views — thanks for your support! Vedi River Valley is a key corridor connecting Ararat Plain and surrounding mountains. doi.org/10.1086/732090
Our Open Access article “Immersing in Mesopotamia: VR Site Tours in the Remote Classroom,” published by @asor-research.bsky.social, reached 2200+ views. It explores how immersive VR site tours can transform the ways we teach and learn in an archaeology university course. doi.org/10.1086/725775
Our Open Access article: “The Apple Vision Pro: Useful MR/AR Headset for Archaeology or Not Quite There Yet?” in @saa-aap.bsky.social of @cambup-archaeology.cambridge.org assesses the Apple VisionPro’s potential for archaeological fieldwork, data visualization and engagement. doi.org/10.1017/aap....
Proud moment for HKU — ranked #1 in Asia by the global higher education analytics organisation Quacquarelli Symonds in QS World University ranking 2026. This recognition reaffirms the University’s sustained leadership across Asia's academic landscape.