Today was our first day of new excavation for 2015. After a lot of work the site is now very clean after the winter. We removed a great deal of backfill - earth we put into the trenches to preserve the architecture we've exposed in previous seasons.
Our plan this year is not to have a large number of new trenches but rather we will concentrate on an area opened last year that was not finished. This is in Southeast quadrant of the site, very close to our zero point. This area has been the highest part of the site and so we normally were setting our total station up on it to view the areas where we were digging. Now that we are working here we need to position our total station machine in another area of the site, back-sighting to at least three known points. My co-director Bryan has fully figured out this procedure and it has given us new flexibility on site.
The new team of student volunteers has proven to be an excellent fit with our already great team of experienced workers. People bring their own diverse experiences to the project, making it a great mix of people. Everyone is working very hard and enjoying the relatively cool June weather. High heat is sure to come. Luckily we have not had any rain yet this first week - this is unusual based on previous seasons.
We had also fixed our work schedule - leaving Dilesi at 6:30, first breakfast at 9:30, second at 11:30. Lunch at 1:45. Home for rest/beach - 2:30-5. Then pottery washing 5-7. Dinner at 8. Most of us are in bed by 10 (I think!).

EBAP 2015 Begins!
Kalo Mena. Our research project for the 2015 year begins today. Even though today was a holiday in Greece our team was able to do some limited cleaning on site, getting ready for a full season of focused excavation and study. We are still a mix of students and staff from UVic, Wellesley, and other universities. Melbourne and Warsaw are again very well-represented, making us, as usual, a highly international team. The weather is clear and cool. Our expectations are high and our attitudes very positive. Posts will be made throughout the summer. Please check back. Below our some photos of our team cleaning and getting oriented.

Ancient Eleon: The Spencer Davie Story

            In May of 2011 I joined Brendan, Trevor, and Joe for the UVIC in Greece & Turkey trip. Ever since, I’ve had a soft nerdy side for the Classics, I mean how can ya not.  So another self -interest course later, Brendan informed me that with another course and one more animating adventure to Greece, I could graduate with a Minor in Greek & Roman Studies. Awesome, absolutely.

            The excavation in ancient Eleon was an experience I’ll never forget. I could write for pages if I had to list everything enjoyable about the paradise that is Dilesi, or the gratifying accomplishment of finding a 4000 year-old artifact hand-crafted by an ancient Mycenaean. To summarize, my favorite parts (by which I mean the memories that mean the most to me) fall under 3 categories, as broad as they are: The people, the water, and the combination of a gyro and Amstel.

            The 40+ person crew that woke up in Dilesi every morning, climbed into vehicles at 6:00AM, and worked their butts off in the sun for the day were some of the most interesting, hilarious, creative, and enjoyable people I’ve ever met. There was never a dull moment and never the absence of a great friend.  “There are many ships in this world, there are big ships and there are small ships, but there is no ship like friendship.” –Me.
            Dilesi is built on the beach; right on the side of a wide bay. Every 30+° we could sit on the beach or enjoy the salty sea. To top that, we celebrated at the Canadian Ambassador’s house in Athens, enjoying his BBQ and backyard pool for what was my favorite day of the experience. I’ve grown up on a lake and enjoy nothing more than a swim after a hot workday, it was amazing.

            The gyro. What I can only describe as the most delicious invention in Greece, these €1,80 pork or chicken pita wraps with fries and tzatziki are simply mind blowing. Perfectly filling, reviving, and tasting, it’s a deadly good combination of food. To accompany that, the Amsterdam brewed Amstel Lager is named after the Amstel River and is wonderful. If you ever get the chance to sample, I highly recommend it.

            My time in Greece was amazing. I worked hard, ate too much, drank a little, and will remember it forever. Thank you so much to all of the diggers, you guys are unbelievable. I’ll never get tired of saying that I am (was?) an archaeologist! 

Reflections and Direction

Aiden Chimney    

           

            Now returned from a summer in Greece, I’ve spent my days with friends and family reflecting on and reiterating stories of my travels.  As the time has passed, I have begun to realize the full impact the trip has had on me and my future. 

          When the trip began, my brother and I left Canada excited to be going to Europe for the first time to visit a place we have heard about our whole lives, but never seen in person.  With no return ticket home, I was planning on traveling after the ‘UVic in Greece’ course.  However it wasn't until the last week of the trip, when Brendan offered me a spot on the dig, that I realized the true extent of my stay.  

          Six weeks on the dig went by much quicker than I had anticipated.  Surrounded by friends and making finds daily on site.  Most of the time I could hardly believe where I was.  I never would have expected to find myself working on an archaeological site in Greece, but the opportunity arose and the reward was even greater than I had expected.

          Over the duration of my time in Greece I quickly began to discover that I wanted to learn more and continue with Greek and Roman studies back at UVic. After a year of university in the sciences, unsure of what I was actually working towards, it’s relieving to feel certain about what my next few years at school will look like. 

Alyssa Allen – The Polygonal Wall

Arguably the most striking feature of Eleon is the massive polygonal wall that stretches along the southern and eastern limits of the site.  I have had occasion to become intimately acquainted with this wall, having spent two weeks digging a very deep trench alongside it in an attempt to both come up with a precise date for its construction and to find the bottom of it.  While the date and full extent is still under study, we also managed to come up with some clues as to its purpose and origin over the course of the season.

The wall at Eleon is unusual, but not entirely unique; there is a similar wall of large polygonal stones at Delphi, near the stoa of the Athenians.  The design, though striking to look at, is not particularly useful in terms of defense, which has led some to believe that its purpose was more for decoration than practical fortification; the first priority of its builders was to impress, rather than protect.  The stones are limestone quarried from a nearby cliff side, within sight of the wall. 

The wall consists of large section of enormous flat, worked stones of varying straight-sided shapes, underneath which are a series of courses of large rectangular stones, which we discovered this season to be at least five courses deep in one area.  At least some of these courses would likely have been underground at the time the wall was in use, as evidenced by the fact that only the topmost two layers are worked as carefully as the polygonal stones to give them a straight, flat appearance.  Beneath these, the stones are worked only around their edges so that they can fit together with the other stones, but the center is left unworked and bulging out, a technique known as anathyrosis.  This indicates that perhaps these lower layers of stone were meant to remain underground and not be seen.

The dating of the wall was our main goal in excavating our experimental trench. Our work suggests that the wall likely dates to the Archaic/Classical period, but that the foundation trench which was dug to build it was then filled up with earth from the older levels of the site, full of Mycenaean pottery.

Another odd and interesting feature of the wall that we discovered while digging is that some of the lower courses of stone appeared to have been more carefully worked than the ones directly above them, with more attention put towards giving them a straight and even appearance. How much further down the wall goes, and what further digging may reveal about its date and purpose, will have to wait until the next excavation season, so stay tuned for future updates over the next few years!

Nicole Nairismagi: The Trowel: An Archaeological Art Form

Considered practically holy to all archaeologists, the trowel is an essential tool while excavating. It’s the ideal instrument for detail-work, cleaning, scarping etc. What is common to all archaeologists is the general importance of the trowel; however, it’s method of use varies depending on each archaeologist’s personal preference. Here at the excavation of Ancient Eleon we have some very special methods.

1.      Happy Hamstrings

-        A very popular pick amongst the students here at Eleon is the “Happy Hamstrings Trowel”, given said name for the wonderful hamstring stretch it provides the trowelist. This stance is rather ideal as it is both comfortable for the archaeologist yet it allows minimum contact with the trench. Both your hamstrings and your trench supervisor will be happy!

2.      Criss-Cross Applesauce

-        Here Robyn demonstrates one of the most comfortable trowelling positions. Ideal for gluteal comfort and allowing for a wide arm span, the criss-cross applesauce trowel works best while articulating or scarping. The main disadvantage of this position is the childlike nature of the pose and that it can be rather abrasive to a surface area.  Overall, a comfortable position but not necessarily optimal.

3.      Symposium Trowel

-        The Symposium Trowel technique is undoubtedly the most comfortable trowelling method. It involves the archaeologist lying on their side while propped up with their elbow, and trowelling away at their work in front of them. While this pose provides optimum comfort for one’s back, the trench is not an idyllic area for lounging and thus it can be frowned upon. In the pictures below Tom beautifully demonstrates the Symposium Trowel, as well as its extension: Beach Whale Symposium.   

4.      Smeagol Stance (2-Points Trowel)

-        The aptly named Smeagol stance involves the trowelist crouching over their work while maintaining only two points of contact on the ground. This position is very strenuous on the knees, but provides minimal surface contact and great mobility within an area. It is generally the preferred technique of professional archaeologists (and LOTR enthusiasts) and may explain the high rate of arthritis within the profession.

5.      One Point of Contact

-        The extraordinarily zen One-Point of contact pose requires that only one foot touches the ground while troweling. Needless to say, it is extraordinarily straining and as such is generally only used by yogi’s, flexible athletes, and Yoda. Though it is rarely seen in the trench, it is truly admirable. 

Cody Andersson Blog entry:

The Mycenaean era is famed for its impressive cities and Cyclopean masonry style. Mycenae and Tiryns are two common examples of both of these. A third and just as valid example is Midea, a hilltop citadel in the Argolid, on the Peloponnese. It exhibits a similar impressive feel and Cyclopean masonry. Eleon, a satellite community of Thebes in Boeotia, seems at first to be an unlikely comparison with Midea, but in many ways reflects the core themes of Mycenaean city-building present in Mycenae and Midea.

Midea was a citadel built on a hill approximately 300 metres in height. It flourished in the Bronze Age before being severely damaged by an earthquake at the end of the thirteenth century BCE. At the transition into the Archaic period it hosted a sanctuary but did not reach its height in the Mycenaean period ever again.

Eleon has a similar history of height and decline. It reached its apex in the Bronze Age, as Midea did, but by the Classical period had lost its previous prosperity. By that point it appears to have become a centre of religion more than population or economy. Any remaining inhabitants would have fled in the face of foreign invasions during the Byzantine period.

One major similarity between Midea and Eleon concerns fortifications. Both are encircled by defensive walls, though Midea in a much grander scale.

The Cyclopean wall at Midea is still a massive structure and would have been a significant challenge for any attacker. Eleon features a polygonal wall, not as imposing as the Cyclopean wall at Midea, but still impressive in its own right and context. Rather than containing massive boulders it is built of large slabs of locally sourced rock carved into whichever (usually irregular) shape fits best with surrounding slabs. While less of a challenge to besiegers than a Cyclopean wall, it would nevertheless have been a substantial barrier not easily bypassed. Siege warfare in ancient Greece did not essentially exist until the Classical period, several centuries after the polygonal wall's construction in the Archaic period.

As such, an army hypothetically attacking Eleon in the Archaic period would have to take the town by attacking unexpected or by persuading the inhabitants to surrender, as there were no ladders or catapults to use.

Accordingly the polygonal wall, while more for show than function, was in its period still a significant challenge for potential attackers. Much of this is applicable to Midea, perhaps more so in that siege warfare was even more nonexistent then.

Midea's location on a high hill is an important feature of its construction. It overlooks much of the surrounding area, from the hills in almost every direction to Nafpoli and the Argolic Gulf to the south-east.

These commanding sight lines are an important first defence, though a Cyclopean wall would be difficult to take even by surprise. Eleon is similarly placed on a small hill with good sight lines over the Boeotian plains. While not as elevated as Midea, Eleon further exploits its location through the use of at least one tower in the southeastern section of polygonal wall. Future occupants recognised this further advantage as well, as evidenced in the tower of either Frankish or Ottoman construction, or both, some distance to the west of Eleon.

Although Midea and Eleon are built on entirely different scales, the intent of their construction and location are readily comparable. Two core themes of Bronze Age, and specifically Mycenaean, city design are reflected in each place. The walls of both represent a substantial barrier to hostile intent despite the polygonal wall at Eleon being more for show than defence. Both places occupy commanding locations over their respective surrounding areas, and Eleon specifically has towers dedicated to further exploiting this terrain advantage. While Midea and Eleon appear not at all similar, they in fact share and reflect central themes of architecture and geophysical location in their eras.