December 9, 2025
Join us in-person on January 7, 2026 at 6pm PT/ 8pm CT/ 9pm ET for the 2026 Annual Meeting Public Lecture: “The Griffin Warrior of Pylos: Ten Years On” presented by Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker
Lecture Synopsis: Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker are co-investigators of the grave of the Griffin Warrior in Pylos, in the province of Messenia, Greece. Their research in Pylos continues year-round, as do efforts to disseminate information about discoveries to specialists and the general public. Here they describe the excavation of the grave itself, as well as their spectacular finds of gold, silver, bronze, and precious gems. Stocker and Davis also discuss the many scientific and archaeological approaches that have been brought to bear on the study of artifacts and human remains from the grave. Finally, they consider implications of their discoveries for our understanding of the rise of the Mycenaean civilization and the first states in Europe ca. 1450 BCE.
Speakers: Sharon R. Stocker and Jack Davis
Sharon R. Stocker has worked on archaeological projects in the U.S. and Greece and, since 1996, has organized archaeological projects at Pylos and in Albania. Since 2011 she has lived permanently in Greece, initially to direct a University of Cincinnati team collaborating with the Greek Ministry of Culture in improving touristic facilities at the Palace of Nestor. That effort resulted in the construction of the shelter that today protects the Mycenaean palace’s remains. She continues to supervise research at Pylos on a year-round basis. She has coordinated efforts to bring finds from the University of Cincinnati excavations to the Museum of Messenia in Athens, to the J. Paul Getty Villa in Malibu, and to the Hellenic National Museum of Archaeology in Athens. The president of Greece has appointed Stocker a Commander of the Order of the Phoenix. She has been honored by the Giuseppe Sciacca Foundation of Vatican City and is an honorary citizen of Pylos. Stocker is also a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and has served as President of the Archaeological Institute of America’s Cincinnati society.
Jack Davis has conducted archaeological research on the Greek island of Kea, in the valley of ancient Nemea, and most recently at Pylos. In Albania he has organized projects at Dyrrachium and Apollonia. Davis has been honored by the German and Finnish archaeological institutes in Greece, and by the Archaeological Society of Athens. The president of Greece has appointed him a Commander of the Order of the Phoenix. The President of Albania has presented him with that country’s Special Civil Merits award. He has also been honored by the Giuseppe Sciacca Foundation of Vatican City. He is an honorary citizen of Pylos, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Davis has received the Archaeological Institute of America’s gold medal for lifetime achievement, as well as the Athens Prize of the Trustees of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Since 2015, Davis and Stocker have co-directed the team that discovered the grave of the Griffin Warrior and two Mycenaean beehive tombs at Pylos. Most recently they co-edited with Claire Lyons and Evangelia Militsi-Kechayia the catalogue that has accompanied The Kingdom of Pylos exhibit at the J. Paul Getty Villa in Malibu.
