To get to Andros from Australia, you will have to set aside a couple of days because you have to catch the plane, a boat and drive to your destination.
The reason why I am here is because my mum* is an archaeologist and I am going to be one of the helpers. There are many archaeologists here (about 25 of them).
They have to work very hard and visit different types of sites. They don’t always dig; they also put pieces of pottery and sculpture together and sometimes they do a lot of research in one place.
They also work in museums and some of them teach the subject of Archaeology. My mum came to my school once and taught us about the ancient Olympics.
By Irma Havlicek
Powerhouse Museum Online Producer
Yesterday morning (Sunday 28 October 2012) I was sitting with some of my colleagues in a cafe having breakfast when, around 9am, Steve Vassilakis said to me, “Oh look, the people are lining up for the Ochi Parade”.
I explained that I didn’t know what the Ochi Parade was, so Steve explained that it commemorates the Greeks saying ‘Ochi’ or ‘No’ to the Nazis and Fascists who wanted to occupy Greece in World War II. The Nazis and Fascists occupied anyway – but this parade celebrates the Greek stance of independence and courage.
With my trusty camera in hand, I dashed out onto the street in front of the cafe, and within a couple of minutes, the parade of mostly drummer boys and young marching girls was passing by. I found the parade surprisingly moving – seeing the innocents marching up the street, commemorating the courage of Greeks standing up to tyrants.
by Irma Havlicek
Powerhouse Museum Online Producer
Our host at the Kantouni Pensione and Cafe, Giorgos Moustakas, invited us all to the Tsipouro Feast, which takes place on the last weekend of October, and marks the start of the annual tsipouro (spirit) production. More information about the festival follows – but for an introduction to the joy of the event, nothing can express it more eloquently than the following video (1 min 38 secs) of the most marvellous music and the enthusiastic cameraderie of the dancing which we all enjoyed – having been generously and warmly welcomed into the event as though we were family.
Now to the geophysical work which is the reason for the hard yakka (for those outside of Australia, ‘hard yakka’ means ‘hard work’) of site clearing I wrote about in an earlier post.
The main aims of this first phase of the Zagora Archaeological Project are to use the best technology available now, firstly, to try to give us a general overview of the layout of the whole site before we start excavating. And, secondly, also to determine where archaeological excavation is most likely to produce the best evidence about life in Zagora during the time of the settlement – from about 900 – 700 BCE.
The best techniques now available are those of archaeological surface survey (more about that later) and of geophysics – the study of the physics of the Earth. Over 3000 years, earth, stones and plants have covered the remains of the Zagora settlement. So what we are seeking is below the surface of what is visible above ground.
by Irma Havlicek
Powerhouse Museum Online Producer
Much of the work of archaeology is detective work – trying to figure out from fragments of information more about objects or the time and place in which they were used, and how they influenced life.
In the following short (50 seconds) video, Dr Paul Donnelly, Powerhouse Curator of Decorative Arts, and also an archaeologist, explains how if you find only a sherd (a small section) of the rim of a pottery object, you can still tell much about the size and shape of that object.
We only had a little while to venture up the hill to the square where the museum is, and a small wander up the main street of shops there. However I snapped the following pics which appealed to me, so I thought I would share them with you. I hope I get back there to explore Chora further because I thought it was gorgeous…. What do you think?
by Irma Havlicek
Powerhouse Museum Online Producer
Work days 2-10 – Wednesday 18 October to Friday 27 October 2012
Our main job over the next two weeks is to clear the site of the stones that stick up out of the earth and also the grasses and bushes (mostly full of thorns) which cover the site. This is so the geophysics experts can do their job (more about that in the next post).
The ground penetrating radar machine cannot be pushed easily over protruding rocks or tall grasses and bushes. This land clearing is a vast amount of work, and it is extremely time critical.
The first thing we did was to walk around the site to familiarise ourselves with it. We looked closely at the site of the temple and also some of the nearby buildings. It was the custom at the time of the Zagora settlement for the altar to be outside the temple; however the situation at Zagora is extremely unusual because the altar is found inside the temple – we don’t know why.
During the first two weeks of this 2012 dig season the site is being surveyed and decisions made about which areas indicate they may be productive if excavated.
by Irma Havlicek
Powerhouse Museum Online Producer
Work day 1 – Wednesday 18 October 2012
Breakfast was served at 6am, as planned, on our first full day on Andros – Wednesday 18 October 2012. My room-mate (Kristen Mann – take a look at Kristen’s Q&A to find out more about her) and I agreed on the tactic of setting an alarm for 6.20am (for those extra minutes of precious sleep), and heading down with our gear, ready to get straight into the van. We packed the gear we’d need the night before, so we just had to grab it and go.
