Archaeological tours and programs in Rome

Visiting archaeological sites where digs are underway and tourist access is limited is generally discouraged. But there are tours and programs in Rome for people interested in archaeology. Here's a sampling: The Archaeological Institute of America, with headquarters in Boston, sponsors a range...

Visiting archaeological sites where digs are underway and tourist access is limited is generally discouraged. But there are tours and programs in Rome for people interested in archaeology. Here's a sampling:

The Archaeological Institute of America, with headquarters in Boston, sponsors a range of travel programs, including some that explore Rome and Greece. For information contact: AIA Tours, P.O. Box 938, 47 Main St., Suite 1, Walpole, NH 03608; (800) 748-6262.

Context Travel, 40 Via Baccina, Rome, 011-39-06-482-0911 or (888) 467-1986 in the United States, www.contexttravel.com, offers cultural tours led by docents who are experts in such fields as cuisine, classical history and architecture. Context's 3 1/2 hour "Underground Rome: The Hidden City" visits sites where archaeological excavations are underway, including the Crypta Balbi and the Church of San Nicola in Carcere. Group tours cost about $70 per person, and private tours can be arranged.

Excavations below St. Peter's Basilica, Excavations Office, Fabbrica di San Pietro, Vatican City, 011-39-06-698-85318, www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20040112_en.html, are part of a Vatican tour that takes visitors into the necropolis below St. Peter's, where St. Peter the Apostle, the first Catholic pontiff, is thought to have been buried -- for many people, both a religious and archaeological ground zero. Reservations must be made in writing by e-mail or fax: , 011-39-06-698-73017. Tickets cost about $13 per person.

Gruppo Archeologico Romano, 168 Via Baldo delgi Ubaldi, Rome, 011-39-06-638-5256, www.gruppoarcheologico.it, is part of an Italian organization that offers hands-on archaeological summer camps in English. In Rome, the organization offers courses conducted by experts at such sites as the Villa of Augustus on Palatine Hill and the early Christian baptistery of St. John the Baptist at the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.

Rome Rewind, 5 Via Capo d'Africa, Rome, 011-39-06-77076627, www.3drewind.com, is a high-tech, three-dimensional animated program, especially good for kids, that uses as its premise the discovery of an archaeological site near the Colosseum, where gladiators prepared for combat. From there, it brings to life sites all around the Forum as they were about 310, helping prepare visitors for explorations in the nearby ruins. Tickets are $14 for adults and $10 for kids.