ASCSA Well Represented at International Corinth Conference
The American School of Classical Studies at Athens was well represented at the recent international conference “Corinthia and the Northeast Peloponnesus: Topography and History from Prehistoric Times until the End of Antiquity.” This four-day gathering, held from March 26–29 at Loutraki, was organized by the LZ´ Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, under the leadership of its Head, Konstantinos Kissas, and the German Archaeological Institute and included Charles K. Williams II (Director Emeritus, Corinth Excavations) and Elizabeth Gebhard (Director, Isthmia Excavations) on its Scientific Committee, and Jack Davis (Director, ASCSA) on its Organizing Committee. In the Open Night session, Mr. Williams was honored by the Ministry of Culture and the LZ´ Ephorate for his contributions to the archaeology of the Corinthia.  (See related story.) The Corinthia conference featured archaeological research, conducted through both excavation and field survey, by the Ephorate as well as by several foreign archaeological schools. The program was arranged geographically, allowing for a long view of development, in some instances from the Neolithic to Late Byzantine periods, for each site or region. Five projects undertaken by or affiliated with the ASCSA were represented: Corinth, Isthmia, Kenchreai, Korphos, and Nemea. The results of unpublished rescue excavations complemented research excavations conducted under the auspices of ASCSA and other institutions. One highlight of the program included the presentation of an Early Mycenaean tholos tomb recently excavated northwest of Corinth’s ancient center by Panagiota Kassimi (Substitute Head, LZ´ Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities). Her finds were set in context by the results of a synthethic study of Mycenaean Corinth by Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst (Assistant Director, Corinth Excavations). Other exciting new finds included the intitial description of an Archaic painted limestone sarcophagus by Eleni Korka (Head of the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities), while the Head of the LZ´ Ephoreia, Konstatinos Kissas, described his own important work on the acropolis of Pheneios.  The final evening of the conference featured an authoritative overview of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine antiquities in the Corinthia, delivered by Demetris Athanassoulis (Head of the 25th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities) and a gripping discussion by Elena Korka of the history and state of illegal trafficking in antiquities in the Corinthia.  Conference attendance was strong and the discussion lively. Publications of ASCSA were on display, thanks to Amelia Brown and Jeremy Ott, and attracted a good deal of attention from Corinthians. DVD copies of Oscar Broneer’s historic documentary film Triumph over Time were particularly popular, while there was keen interest in forthcoming publications by Yannis Lolos (Land of Sikyon: The Archaeology and History of a Greek City-State) and Daniel Pullen (The Early Bronze Age Village on Tsoungiza Hill) .  As urban development of the Corinthia continues at a rapid pace, rescue excavations will without a doubt continue to shed much new light on the area’s past. Papers from this year’s conference will be published by the German Archaeological Institute. See the conference program. Read the abstracts.