Corinth Excavations 2014: End of Season and Google Glass
Larkin Kennedy recording a burial in the Temple E, southeast area.
Monday June 30th marked the end of the third and final training session and the end of the 2014 season.  A total of 22 ASCSA students and others participated.  In the third session, Jen Swalec and Emily Wilson worked two areas north  and west of the Church. Ross Brendle and Justin Holcomb worked in the area between the museum and the Frankish Area and south of the church.  Also Larkin Kennedy finished excavating the graves in her area and began to study the skeletons.  Jody Cundy was the assistant site director.  She also supervised probes in several spots.  Rosana Valente assisted in the pot sheds.  One of the main goals of the season was to excavate a baulk of earth between the 1930’s trenches for the construction of the museum and Charles Williams’ Temple E Southeast excavations of the 1990’s.  With this objective nearly accomplished the conservation of the Frankish Area and presentation to the public is closer to realization. The Google Glass unit kindly lent to us by Andrew Reinhard (once again sincere thanks are due to Andrew!), the School’s director of publications, proved to be an interesting addition to our recording system that stirred mixed feelings among our excavators.  On one hand several students reiterated many of the frequently levied criticisms, such as poor battery life and buggy voice control.  In the intense heat and harsh light of Greece’s summer sun, the unit tended to overheat and it was difficult to see.  Some also found talking to their glasses disconcerting.  On the other hand many students embraced the opportunity to experience new wearable technology.  As new apps are developed and functionality expands, Glass or its successor will undoubtedly be very useful.  For our purposes, the students used Glass to create an interesting series of FPV (first person view) videos summarizing their excavations at regular intervals. This not only challenged them to present their excavations in a different medium but also forced them to question different audiences and how video might supplement the existing excavation record.  Additional videos (Burials, glass artifacts, conservation)  were created in the museum presenting post excavation management of artifacts in terms of conservation and discussing previously excavated parallels to artifacts found this year.  The student video summaries will be made available to the public after our excavation report has been submitted to the Greek Ministry of Culture in the autumn of this year.  They will be a valuable community outreach tool as they help us engage the public in discussions about how archaeologists create history.