Mat Saunders

Mat Saunders is the founder and director of American Foreign Academic Research, better known as AFAR, and the director of international research at Davidson Day School, where he also teaches anthropology. Saunders has dedicated his career to the advancement of archaeological research and site preservation, as well as developing and implementing education and outreach initiatives that connect professional and non-professional communities. 

Under Saunders' leadership, AFAR has pioneered full-scale archaeological research projects across the globe, utilizing the talents of pre-collegiate students paired with highly-skilled professional archaeologists and educators. Their special model combines the unique qualities of professionals and non-professionals to create sustainable, high-quality projects that never compromise the integrity of the research or archaeological sites. This model has proven to be successful as their projects have now provided the opportunities for hundreds of pre-collegiate students to engage in archaeological research at some of the world's most culturally significant sites. 

Saunders currently oversees ongoing research projects at the sites of Cahal Pech in western Belize, Zorita de los Canes in central Spain, and Tróia in coastal Portugal. Since 2006, AFAR has investigated the ancient Maya city of Cahal Pech, specifically focusing their efforts on the central site core and ballcourt on the western periphery. Their annual efforts have not only provided a better understanding of the site's structural composition and layout but has also developed the site's visitor experience through their preservation efforts. Since 2014, Saunders has directed excavations at the Medieval castle site of Zorita de los Canes, which once served as the headquarters for the Calatrava Order. These excavations have yielded the discoveries of the castle's central cloister, cemetery, and four previously undiscovered subterranean chambers. The third ongoing archaeological project currently overseen by Saunders is the Ancient Tróia Archaeological Testing Project. Often referred to as the Pompei of Portugal, the ancient city of Tróia was significant for being the largest producer of garum and other salted fish products beloved throughout the Roman Empire. Since 2017, Constantly fighting coastal erosion, AFAR has focused their efforts on exposing and recording vulnerable architecture that made up the site's harbor and their work has contributed greatly to the understanding of the city's operational design.

Saunders is also the creator of the Maya at the Playa and Maya at the Lago Conferences, which bring professionals and non-professionals together annually to share the excitement of discovering and learning. In an effort to further archaeological research and bring the science of archeology to individuals outside of the professional archaeological community, Saunders pioneered a number of Maya-focused conferences. These conferences provided a collaborative venue by bringing together the most accomplished professionals in Maya studies together with each other and individuals who had interest but lacked access to this knowledge. Saunders worked to climb out of the confines of traditional academic conferences by bringing differing perspectives, more interaction and socialization to the program and eliminating some of the formality and stuffiness. Over fifteen years, Saunders hosted thousands of guests at twenty-six different conferences.