March 9, 2026
The AIA is proud to present Dr. James C. Wright, Professor Emeritus at Bryn Mawr College, as the winner of the 2027 Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement. His fieldwork projects and publications have made significant contributions to the fields of Aegean Prehistory and Greek archaeology more generally, setting a high bar for professional standards as well as transforming our understanding of Mycenaean society and architecture. His record as a teacher, advisor, and mentor has been equally outstanding and through his energetic support, generations of young scholars have launched academic careers.
In terms of fieldwork, Dr. Wright has directed archaeological investigations at three important sites: the Nemea Valley Archaeological Project (NVAP, 1981–2020), the Excavations of the Chamber Tomb Cemetery at Ayia Sotira, Nemea (2006–2009), and the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum Excavations at Kommos, Crete (2020–present). NVAP was the first truly interdisciplinary field project in Greece, combining regional survey, site surface survey, geophysics, and excavation; it was also the first project that focused on a non-palatial settlement with the explicit goal of studying the impact of momentous socio-political developments in Bronze Age Greece on small, outlying settlements. The results of the excavations and surface survey were published in an exemplary fashion in 2020 by Dr. Wright, Mary Dabney, and their collaborators, in two milestone volumes totaling nearly 1,200 pages.
As a leader in cultural heritage protection and professional ethics, Dr. Wright was a protagonist in the identification of the Aidonia Treasure, a rich assemblage of Mycenaean goldwork and sealstones pillaged in the mid-1970s and ultimately repatriated to Greece in 1996. This was followed in 2006–2009 by the Ayia Sotira project. In collaboration with the Greek Archaeological Service, the documentation of previously looted tombs was conceived as a thoroughly interdisciplinary endeavor by applying, for the first time, advanced methods such as soil micromorphology and systematic recovery of organic remains. The innovative nature of the 2017 final publication of this excavation was recognized with the AIA’s 2021 McCann Prize for the best publication of an archaeological field project. In all, his impressive scholarly record encompasses six books and 69 articles and book chapters, with the research funded by prestigious Humboldt, Fulbright, and NEH fellowships.
Similarly, Dr. Wright has left an outsized footprint on our field as an able administrator. At Bryn Mawr College, he was Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology for twelve years and Dean of the Graduate School for five years. Among his most significant positions was that of Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (2012–2017). In this capacity he was indefatigable, launching and shepherding to completion a host of new initiatives. These include building a new Wiener Lab for Archaeological Science and the Ioannis Makriyannis Wing exhibition gallery in the Gennadius Library. He also instituted the digitization of the ASCSA archives and more than a hundred thousand objects in the Gennadius Library. In sum, it is no exaggeration to count Dr. James Wright among the most influential scholars in the theory and practice of archaeology during the last 45 years, and someone who has exerted a major and enduring impact on Greek archaeology through his research, teaching, administrative positions, and ethical actions.
Dr. Wright will be honored at the Awards Ceremony at the 2027 Annual Meeting in Boston. There will also be a Gold Medal colloquium in his honor.
