Projects
Excavations:
Thorikos: The famous settlement with its silver mines, theatre, washeries and Mycenaean tholos tombs in the Lavrion area, Attica, is under continuing investigation by a team of the Universiteit Gent, under the direction of Professor Roald Docter. A team of the Université de Liége, under direction of Professor em. Robert Laffineur, was active for long periods and will be also active under the direction of Professor em. Robert Laffineur and Dr Sylviane Déderix (UCLouvain) under the general supervision of the director of the site Professor R. Docter. The new five-year program (2018-2022) under the direction of Professor Roald Docter covers the totality of the site, i.e. the Industrial Quarter, the Theater area, and the Velatouri. The University of Liège in the person of Professor Em. Robert Laffineur and Dr Sylviane Déderix will return on the site and occupy the activities on the top and Northern slopes of Velatouri covering the pre-and protohistoric areas. Also, the team under Professor Denis Morin will continue the exploitation of the underground mining network.
The archaeological site on the Kephali tou Agio Antoniou at Sissi in the community of Vrachasi (Nomos Lassithiou, Crete) has been under exploration since 2007 under the direction of J. Driessen (UCLouvain). Occupied between 2500 BCE and 1200 BCE, the site includes a settlement, cemetery and a monumental building with central court. The AEGIS catalogue, reporting also on the excavation reports from Sissi, is online here: https://pul.uclouvain.be/collection/?collection_id=56
The site of Itanos in the community of Palaikastro (Nomos Lassithiou, Crete) has been under exploration since 2011 by a team directed by A. Tsingarida and D. Viviers (ULB). Apart from a cemetery, excavations have also revealed an Archaic building.
Research:
An ERC Consolidator Grant, from the UGent and Prof. Maud Devolder
DAEDALOS. Conceptualising Processes of Monumental Architectural Creation in the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age aims to challenge the predominant metanarrative that uniformly sees monuments as an attribute of centralised, hierarchical political economies and top-down power structures. This view exerts a strong influence on our understanding of the organisation of Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean societies, but is hierarchical power a necessary prerequisite to monumental building projects?
To answer this question, DAEDALOS relies on a new conceptual approach and methodological framework that makes it possible to address the formal and configurational features of monumental edifices, and to determine the building management strategies used to coordinate the construction projects.
DAEDALOS is generously funded by a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC COG Project 101043552).
Read the UGent press release).
Past fieldwork and research projects:
The EBSA was also active in Titane (Northeastern Peloponnese) between 2005-2007 when the then director of the School Dr Kris Tytgat conducted surface survey and photogrammetric mapping of the defensive was in collaboration with Ghent University (UGent). The publication of the excavated material is forthcoming.
A Belgian mission was also active in Makronissos excavating the site of Provatsa under the direction of Dr Paule Spitaels. The site gave important results for the conclusion of the earlier phase of Bronze Age Attika; unfortunately, the untimely death of Dr Spitaels left the study of the material unfinished. The EBSA gave permission to a series of young Greek scholars to study and publish the material in the PhD theses and a series of articles.
Acquiring authorisations:
The EBSA is legally and financially responsible for all projects undertaken by scholars of Belgian universities submitted to the Greek ministry of culture or any other Greek authority by Belgian scholars.
A useful manual for the procedure of acquiring excavation or survey permits can be found on the website of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
The full Greek text of the law concerning protection of archaeological and cultural heritage can be found below on website of the Greek ministry of culture:
The school will not be held responsible for projects or project requests that were submitted by individual scholars.
Applications for excavations, survey or other fieldwork should arrive at the school before the 15th of October of each year.
The School then verifies all practical and legal requirements of the permission request and if needed, helps with translations. Applications for library visits, museum studies, or other activities that fall in the range of activities of the school that are not fieldwork can be made throughout the year, except in August, when the school is closed.
