Excavating in the Aegean: The Despotiko Field School

Course: ARCX-321 Excavating in the Aegean: The Despotiko Field School (Summer 2024)

Core Literacy:

• Technology

Learning Goals:

• Conduct research by traditional and digital methods
• Develop multi- and cross-cultural perspectives and apply them to gender, ethnic, and social issues

During my summer in 2024, I attended a field school through College Year in Athens, called Excavating in the Aegean: The Despotiko Field School. Located near the islands of Paros and Antiparos in the Cyclades, it was a prominent site during Archaic and Classical periods in Greece. During the first week of this experience, our group excavated Building MN, which dates back to the second half of the 6th century BC. The following two weeks, we moved our excavation to Tsimintiri, another nearby, uninhabited island, which had only been excavated briefly, during three prior field seasons. We were able to excavate multiple buildings across the island, helping the researchers better understand the significance of Tsimintiri in relation to Despotiko and its surroundings. Our last week was spent on the island of Paros, cleaning and cataloguing pottery sherds from excavations of previous years and our excavation as well. Throughout all four weeks, I attended daily lectures about Greek archaeology and Aegean prehistory, which aligned with the techniques and methods we were learning that day in the field.

This experience was my introduction into the Classical world, and changed the trajectory of my undergraduate path academically. Not only did I enjoy the physical aspect of excavating in Greece, but I found the information presented in the lectures fascinating as well, which is what led me to register for Classics courses and declare a major when I returned to Skidmore in the fall. I found this experience to be a successful and pivotal moment in my journey into Classics, as without it I wouldn’t have a number of other experiences that I do today. I believe completing this field school ultimately confirmed my passion for archaeology as well, and showed me the path I want to continue down in graduate school and beyond.

Left: Temple of Apollo located on Despotiko with drone above, used to take images above, May 2024.

Right: Excavation of Despotiko using pickaxes, May 2024.