Archaeological Discoveries by the Canadian Institute in Greece

Ambassador of Greece to Canada, Eleftherios Anghelopoulos with the Director of the Canadian Institute in Greece, Professor David Rupp and a student from Ottawa University

Lecture organized by The Friends of the Canadian Institute in Greece - Ottawa Chapter in collaboration with the Archaeological Institute of America in Ottawa and  the Parnassos Hellenic Cultural Society:

"Canadians take the field throughout Greece:
Over three decades of archaeological discoveries
by the Canadian Institute in Greece"
by Dr. David W. Rupp,
Director, Canadian Institute in Greece, Thursday,September 26, 2013


Canadians take the field throughout Greece:

Over three decades of archaeological discoveries by the Canadian Institute in Greece
Officially recognized in 1976 by the Greek government, the then Canadian Archaeological Institute at Athens (CAIA) conducted its first archaeological fieldwork project at Kastro Khostion in western Boeotia in 1980. Professor John Fossey from McGill University, one of the founding visionaries of the CAIA, directed the enterprise.  From that period the members of the CAIA, since 2005 the Canadian Institute in Greece (CIG), have organized 16 other research projects in almost every part of Greece.  This research has included pedestrian survey and excavation as well as underwater reconnaissance and geophysical investigations.  The chronological periods involved span the third millennium BCE to the Early Modern period.  Many of these investigations were collaborative efforts with our Greek colleagues in the Hellenic Archaeological Service.  CIG has made an indelible mark on Greek archaeology since its beginning.
The lecture will highlight the work of selected recent archaeological projects that illustrate the great diversity of Canadian research as well as the lasting importance of the results for the understanding the development of the cultures in the Aegean basin from the Late Bronze Age of the 14th - 12th centuries BCE to the Early Byzantine period of the 6th and 7th centuries CE.
The acropolis at ancient Eleon in eastern Boeotia (University of Victoria) has exposed substantial architectural remains from the 13th and 12th centuries BCE.  In the 6th-4th centuries BCE the Bronze Age defensive walls were incorporated into the entrance ramp of a new wall to display affinity with the forbearers.  The meticulous excavation of Mycenaean chamber tombs of the 13th century BCE at Ayia Sotira in the Peloponnese (Brock University) has revealed their repeated use over time.  At ancient Argilos in Macedonia (Université de Montréal) the urban development of this Greek colonial foundation has come to light in the form of houses lining a paved street that date from the 7th through 4th centuries BCE.  A complete 2nd century BCE house with 10 rooms has been uncovered at Kastro Kallithea in Thessaly (University of Alberta).  An intensive archaeological survey of the 6th-7th century CE port settlement at Kato Leukos on the western coast of Karpathos (Trent University) has demonstrated the importance of this hitherto neglected site.
Underwater investigations are among of the research interests of the Institute. The reconstruction of the ancient sea levels and shorelines at Kalamianos on the Saronic Gulf (McMaster University) has allowed the visualization of a Mycenaean port of the 14th and 13th centuries BCE.
In later October the Institute will launch its interactive Portal to the Past that is funded by a grant from Eldorado Gold Corporation and its subsidiary Thracean Gold Mining S.A.   The Institute’s user-friendly online Portal will cover the research and the findings of each of the 17 projects as well as of the Frederick E. Winter Black and White Negative Collection on Greek and Roman Architecture.  A preview of this online resource for education, research and general information will cover its many useful features.

Professor David W. Rupp
Director
Canadian Institute in Athens