This is an online event.
Sponsored by: Archaeological Institute of America
Once the mainstay of archaeological investigation, “pick and shovel” excavation is quickly becoming too expensive and difficult for most projects to carry out on a regular basis. While many archaeologists have turned to field survey as an alternative, there is a third option—the archaeology of the archive. Using the Ohio State University Excavations at Isthmia as an example, this talk argues for a return to the enormous quantity of material and evidence that is held in storage room and project archives throughout the Mediterranean. At Isthmia, archival research has shown that excavations conducted in different locations in the lower sanctuary over a short period of time in the 1960s and 1970s failed to recognize similar artifacts and architectural features. When accurately identified and seen as a whole, these findings yield compelling evidence for the existence of an overall organizational plan for the site in the Roman period centered on a large colonnaded courtyard similar in many respects to the gymnasia at Olympia and Delphi.
Short bibliography and/or website on lecture topic:
Frey, J.M. and T.E. Gregory. “Old Excavations, New Interpretations: The 2008-2013 Seasons of the Ohio State University Excavations at Isthmia,” Hesperia 85.3 (2016)
Young Lecture
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