Zagora dig blog Archives - Page 3 of 16 - Zagora Archaeological Project

Uncovering industry and economy in the ancient Aegean: Conversations with Lesley and Paul – Part Two

July 26, 2019July 9, 2019 by Jodi Cameron

This post – the final instalment in a two-part series which draws on a conversation I had with two of the project’s co-directors, Associate Professor Lesley Beaumont and Dr Paul Donnelly – looks at their hopes for the 2019 excavation program. Read part one here.

The current archaeological program extends beyond the sanctuary and domestic units to investigate the economy of Zagora more closely. How did the people live? How did they survive at Zagora? What was the structure behind the agricultural economy, the manufacturing economy and animal husbandry practices? With what other communities were the Zagorans in contact? With whom did they exchange goods?

Survey and excavations of the recent decade

To start to answer these questions, in 2012 the team undertook geophysical analysis. Through Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), resistivity and magnetometry surveys, they were able to get a better sense of what lay below the surface. These surface survey techniques enabled the team to identify areas high in surface finds.

Excavations since then have focused on communal areas such as the entrance area to Zagora, just within the fortification wall’s gate, and on areas with high numbers of artefacts – in particular, sherds (pottery fragments) and metal slag (which provides evidence of industrial work).

The 2013 and 2014 dig seasons focused on the results of the 2012 reconnaissance. Eleven test trenches were excavated across the site. Further surveys were undertaken across the surrounding landscape to try and pinpoint any other areas with concentrations of Early Iron Age artefacts.

Test trench 11 quickly proved to be particularly interesting. The team found evidence of a wide road surface which led towards what appears to be an industrial feature. This is significant as few access routes have been identified anywhere else within the Zagora settlement, and the possible industrial feature has the potential to answer some of our questions on the economy and manufacturing production.

Unfortunately, the 2014 field season ended before excavations could be completed. Test Trench 11 was backfilled and patiently waited for the 2019 season.

Test Trench 11 after the removal of the backfill. Geotextile was laid down to protect the archaeology from the backfill. (Image: Jodi Cameron, 2019)

However, Zagora wasn’t totally abandoned by ZAP between 2014 and 2019. A small field season, led by Dr Hugh Thomas, was undertaken in 2017 focusing on infrared imaging across the site and some of the surrounding landscapes in order to detect subsurface remains.

Aims of the current season

The 2019 season has been informed by the results of all the 1967–1974 excavations and the 2012–2017 excavation, survey, geophysical and infrared imaging work.

Importantly, in 2014 and 2015, the exposed architectural remains of the site underwent state-of-the-art conservation thanks to site conservation specialist Dr Stephania Chlouveraki (you can read more about her work here. ZAP’s commitment to the preservation and presentation of Zagora is deeply felt and this aspect of the project is very much at the forefront of the co-directors’ objectives.

The directors have approached the 2019 season strategically. Our focus for this season is on continuing the excavation of Trench 11 and ground-truthing the results of the 2017 infrared imaging and 2012 magnetometer survey.

Anomalies were identified in both the infrared imaging project and the magnetometer survey. Trenches have now been opened in both the areas where these irregularities were identified, and their secrets will soon be revealed! It’s early days yet, but we hope find remains that will further inform us on the ‘industrial’ activities which may have taken place in this part of the settlement.

Some of the team working on a new trench. This trench was positioned over a magnetic anomaly identified in the 2012 geophysical analysis. (Image: Jodi Cameron, 2019)

Keep up to date with the site on our Instagram: @zagora_archaeological_project

Helicopters, modern museums and Iron Age houses: Conversations with Lesley and Paul – Part One

July 29, 2019July 8, 2019 by Jodi Cameron

Fieldwork is well underway at Zagora, on the Aegean island of Andros, for the 2019 season. I managed to sneak some time with Associate Professor Lesley Beaumont and Dr Paul Donnelly, two of the project’s four co-directors, to learn more about the project so far.

In this post – the first of a two-part series – they recount some behind-the-scenes challenges and findings from the early Zagora excavations.

Logistical challenges of the early excavations

Lesley has been working on Zagora since 2010, with fieldwork starting in 2012. In 2010, Lesley, along with Professor Meg Miller and Dr Stavros Paspalas, ran a workshop in Athens for key participants of the project. The attendees included the directors and some of the field specialists as well as Dr Jill Carington-Smith, who was a member of the first Australian team that excavated at Zagora, under the directorship of Professor Alexander Cambitoglou, in the 1960s and 1970s. Zagora was always going to be a difficult site to access, so the workshop was to include a site visit to discuss the plans for the excavation and project.

The first curve ball appeared when the site visit had to be delayed due to a 24-hour ferry strike. Which turned into a 48-hour strike, then a 72-hour strike and soon looked like it was never going to end! After a mad scramble to charter a private boat (all quotes were coming in over budget) the situation was looking hopeless, until one lovely boat operator directed Lesley to a helicopter company. Helicopters, as it turns out, are cheaper than private boats!

What could have been a disaster for the project actually became a great asset as the first aerial photographs of the renewed Zagora project were taken during that helicopter ride. This was the first of many reminders that Zagora is a very isolated site.

Amid all of this excitement, the co-directors, representing the AAIA and the University of Sydney’s Department of Archaeology, were also applying to the Australian Research Council (ARC) for grants to facilitate the project. To strengthen the ARC grant application the co-directors collaborated with the Powerhouse Museum through the advocacy of Paul Donnelly, a curator at that institution and archaeology graduate, as the museum had access to a wider audience and could provide updates on the project through a tailored website and blogs.

Paul joined Team ZAP as part of this collaboration and now works at Sydney University Museums where he continues to reach wide audiences, particularly through his work involving the university’s soon-to-be-opened Chau Chak Wing Museum. Paul hopes in the future to mount an exhibition on Zagora in the Chau Chak Wing Museum.

Findings of the 1967–1974 seasons

While Zagora is now an isolated and hard-to-reach site, it was originally an accessible settlement with access to the sea. The site is a prime example of an Early Iron Age settlement, with hugely significant archaeology, in a stunning location. Zagora is unique as we have access to the whole site as it was left in approximately 700 BCE.

The remains of the sanctuary, which was excavated in the 1967–1974 seasons. (Image: Jodi Cameron, 2019)

The excavations between 1967–1974 uncovered less than 10% of the site and, as is common in archaeology, they raised more questions than answers.

Those excavations focused on religious and domestic areas within the settlement. The sanctuary and houses were therefore the focus of attention, though important work was also conducted on the settlement’s fortification wall.

Houses excavated in the 1967–1974 seasons. (Image: Jodi Cameron, 2019)

In the next post, Paul, Lesley and I talk further about what they hope to achieve during the current archaeological program. Stay tuned! In the meantime, follow us on Instagram: @zagora_archaeological_project

Zagora – The Story So Far

July 30, 2019June 27, 2019 by Jodi Cameron

As we prepare for the 2019 season at Zagora, here is a quick summary of what we know so far about the site’s rich past, what we don’t know, and where we are up to.

Zagora was a settlement of about 6.7 hectares in area, situated on the western coast of Andros, the northernmost of the Cycladic islands. It is an Early Iron Age site, dating from the 9th to 8th centuries BC, and has been preserved largely undisturbed since the inhabitants left in about 700 BC. We still don’t fully understand why they abandoned Zagora, though climate change is implicated as a major factor, but much of their domestic lives remain in remarkable condition for archaeologists to excavate millennia later.

The site of Zagora with the Aegean Sea and the island of Gyaros beyond. © Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens

Between 1967 and 1974 a team from Sydney University, under the auspices of the Athens Archaeological Society and led by Professor Alexander Cambitoglou, undertook the first major excavations at the site. These excavations uncovered 55 stone-built rooms which represent 25 houses, a fortification wall and a sacred area with evidence of continued visitation after the abandonment of the settlement.

From 2012 to 2014 Sydney University, along with the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens and the Powerhouse Museum, returned to Zagora with the aid of an Australian Research Council grant.

The team conducted excavations and an archaeological survey, bringing new techniques to the examination of the site including geophysical analyses, surface thermal luminescence dating, aerial photography, photogrammetry, satellite remote sensing, residue analysis and faunal analysis. Using these techniques and a range of evidence, the team was able to date the remains more precisely and learn more about what the Iron Age settlement of Zagora was like – from the ruins lying under the surface to animal remains to pollen residue. All helped build a more accurate, vivid picture of the site.

Some of the published material from the excavations to date is available to download here. More details on the site and previous archaeological works can be found here.

The 2014 site plan showing the areas that were excavated at Zagora in 2014. The Zagora site survey data by R. C. Anderson, J. J. Coulton, M. McCallum, and A. Wilson. This 2014 plan by A. Wilson. © Zagora Archaeological Project

The 2019 season is a collaborative project of the University of Sydney, the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens, Sydney University Museums and GML Heritage. The aims of this season are to conduct archaeological excavations and a surface survey as well as explore subsurface remains with thermal/infrared imaging. A particular focus of the team’s attention in 2019 will be an area in which evidence for workshop – or even ‘industrial’ – activities were revealed in the latter stages of the 2014 excavation season. This was a find of major importance for Aegean, and wider, archaeology. The upcoming season promises to reveal new and important information which will help us understand the economy of the site and its place in the wider eastern Mediterranean.

An aerial quadcopter shot of Zagora from the northwest, showing the stepped sides of the slope caused by erosion. © Hugh Thomas

The Zagora Archaeological Project is back for 2019

July 26, 2019June 21, 2019 by Jodi Cameron

The University of Sydney’s Department of Archaeology and the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens in collaboration with Sydney University Museums and GML Heritage are returning to the important archaeological site of Zagora on the island of Andros in 2019.

The 2019 field season is due to start in July and will last for three weeks. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture has granted the permit for the 2019 Zagora fieldwork and preparations are underway.

During the three weeks we will further explore the site through archaeological excavation, archaeological surface survey, and thermal/infrared imaging to detect subsurface remains.

We have an amazingly talented team joining us this year. I will introduce them all throughout the course of the dig but here is a sneak peek!

The Co-Directors:

Associate Professor Dr Lesley Beaumont;
Dr Paul Donnelly;
Professor Margaret Miller; and
Dr Stavros Paspalas.

The Field Team:

Giorgos Agavanakis;
Rudy Alagich;
Lea Alexopoulos;
Sami Beaumont-Cankaya;
Jodi Cameron;
Dr Charlotte Diffey;
Annette Dukes;
Dr Myrsini Gouma;
Dr Nicola Harrington;
Anne Hooton;
Elaine Lin;
Dr Kristen Mann;
Beatrice McLoughlin;
Dr Hugh Thomas;
Nikos Vasilikoudis;
Ivana Vetta;
Emma Williams; and
Andrew Wilson.

I will be providing regular updates on the project. Get involved, ask questions and follow us here and on Instagram: @zagora_archaeological_project

Ancient settlement architecture conservation at Zagora

July 26, 2019March 27, 2016 by Irmah

The work of Dr Stefania Chlouveraki, site conservation scientist

Dr Stefie Chlouveraki teaches mosaic and ceramic conservation at the Technological Educational Institute of Athens, as well as undertaking conservation projects such as this one at Zagora. © AAIA; photo by Irma Havlicek

One of the immense benefits arising from the Zagora Archaeological Project is conservation of exposed settlement building structures of Zagora.

Site conservation scientist, Dr Stefania Chlouveraki (known as Stefie), has been contracted by the Zagora Archaeological Project to develop a conservation and maintenance plan to manage this work.

Her aim is not to reconstruct buildings but to protect the structures from deteriorating further and to preserve what remains so that present and future generations are able to gain an insight and connect with this remarkable site.

Beatrice McLoughlin – Part 2

July 26, 2019December 17, 2015 by Irmah

by Irma Havlicek
with generous assistance from Beatrice McLoughlin

AAIA Research Officer, archivist and archaeological database proselytiser

Beatrice McLoughlin and Andrew Wilson in the Zagora office in Batsi during the 2013 season. — Beatrice McLoughlin and Andrew Wilson in the Zagora office in Batsi. © PHM; photo by Irma Havlicek

(This is part 2 of a profile of Beatrice McLoughlin. Part 1 focuses on Beatrice’s expertise with coarseware.)

Beatrice is the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA) Research Officer, looking after the archives relating to the AAIA’s archaeological excavations: Zagora and Torone in Greece.

She has been researching the Zagora legacy data – that is, the information out of the initial Australian excavations at Zagora in the 1960s and 70s for some 20 years.

Beatrice is in charge of the ‘Zagora pot shed’ (in fact, the work is done at the Archaeological Museum in Chora, Andros), and the Torone pot shed, as Olwen Tudor Jones had been (more about Olwen in Part 1).

Beatrice McLoughlin – Part 1

July 26, 2019December 17, 2015 by Irmah

by Irma Havlicek
with generous assistance from Beatrice McLoughlin and Stavros Paspalas

Zagora finds manager and coarseware expert

Beatrice looking elegant at our Halloween party — Beatrice looking elegant at our ZAP Halloween party in 2013. © PHM; photo by Irma Havlicek

(This is part 1 of a profile of Beatrice McLoughlin. Part 2 covers her work as AAIA Research Officer/Archivist and the value of archaeological databases.)

Beatrice McLoughlin is passionate about Zagora. So much so that when I first got to know her, I couldn’t imagine there was room for other passions in her life. However what I found was that she is a Zagoraphile, foodophile, oenophile, ceramicophile and general experienceophile. (Note: ‘-phile’ – denoting fondness for a specified thing; from Greek philos: ‘loving’.)

Beatrice’s mother was a ceramicist when Beatrice was growing up. She is now a weaver. (Note: ‘ceramic’ is from the Greek ‘keramikos’, from ‘keramos’, meaning ‘pottery’.)

Beatrice grew up with clay, kilns, pottery, old-fashioned kick-wheels, settling tanks, potting tools and firing experiments featuring large in her life.

Aerial (quadcopter) photography of Zagora in 2014

July 26, 2019June 17, 2015 by Irmah

Hugh Thomas, in blue, launching the quadcopter, with Paul Donnelly observing. Photo and © Hugh Thomas

by Hugh Thomas
Archaeologist and aerial photographer

The Zagora Archaeological Project embraces new technology. Not only is our data being recorded into the database system HEURIST using digital tablets but in 2014 a new technology was utilised at the site: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs.

The first aerial photograph of an archaeological site was taken by Friedrich Stoltze of Persepolis in 1879. The decision to aim a camera at an archaeological site from the air had a lasting impact on archaeological recording. Aerial photography is visually attractive but it is also an important recording technique. It provides archaeologists with another view of a feature that can be useful to help understand large archaeological remains as a whole. Not only can aerial photographs assist in recording a site, it can also help illustrate the wider environment that the site is situated in. For example, photos of Zagora help illustrate its position on the coastline and its relationship with the nearby mountains.

A high, distant quadcopter shot of Zagora from the east. Photo and © Hugh Thomas

Zagora Study Day presentations

July 26, 2019April 24, 2015 by Irmah

Professor Alexander Cambitoglou introduced the Zagora Study Day on Saturday 18 April 2015. Photo by Irma Havlicek; © AAIA

by Irma Havlicek
Web Producer

An enthusiastic audience of some eighty people attended the Zagora Study Day on Saturday 18 April 2015.

Professor Alexander Cambitoglou, director of the excavation campaigns at Zagora in the late 1960s and early 70s, and also Director of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA), spoke briefly about the project and introduced the first presenter, Professor Meg Miller.

As one of the three co-directors (with Associate Professor Lesley Beaumont and Dr Stavros Paspalas) of the Zagora Archaeological Project (ZAP), Meg gave an overview of the aims and aspirations and also the exciting findings of the 2012-2014 excavation and study seasons.

Bob Miller – Archaeological Photographer

July 26, 2019April 12, 2015 by Irmah

Bob Miller with his artefact photography setup at Andros Archaeological Museum. It was Bob who arranged the lighting for this shot. So, although I framed the photo and clicked the button - the result was only possible because of Bob's skill with photographic lighting — Bob Miller with his artefact photography setup at Andros Archaeological Museum. It was Bob who arranged the lighting for this shot. So, although I framed the photo and clicked the button – the result was only possible because of Bob’s skill with photographic lighting. © AAIA

by Irma Havlicek
Web Content Producer

The Zagora Archaeological Project (ZAP) attracts eminent professionals from archaeology and associated disciplines. Bob Miller, an internationally renowned photographer, is the Zagora Project’s archaeophotographer.

An exhibition of Bob’s photography opens to the public in Canberra on Saturday 18 April – highlighting almost 25 years of his work on archaeological excavations around the world. The exhibition, ‘Beyond the expected’, is on at the University of Canberra, in the foyer of Building 24, on University Drive South. The exhibition closes on Friday 1 May 2015. Sadly, many ZAPpers won’t be able to attend the exhibition opening, and Bob won’t be able to make our Zagora Study Day on Saturday 18 April due to an inadvertent scheduling clash. Further details about the exhibition and more of Bob’s work can be seen at bobmiller.com.