Mediterranean Section Research
Since its inception, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has supported a strong program of research and excavation in the Mediterranean world. Highlights include an emergency underwater excavation of a shipwreck off Porticello, Italy, (dating between 415 and 385 BCE); the Greek colony of Sybaris, Italy (founded around 720 BCE); the settlement and surroundings of Vrokastro, Crete (Middle Minoan, with a reoccupation from about 1250 BCE to the 7th century BCE)); the city and cemeteries of Kourion, Cyprus (Late Bronze Age into the Hellenistic and Roman periods); a merchant vessel shipwreck off Kyrenia, Cyprus (4th century BCE)); Gordion, Turkey, once ruled by the famed King Midas (Early Bronze Age into the Roman period); and the Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya (ca. 600 BCE) until the mid third century CE).
The Granicus River Valley Archaeological Survey Project focuses on an area of northwestern Turkey that was controlled by both Greeks and Persians during the first millennium BCE. Looting there has become increasingly rampant due to the gold and silver objects still preserved in many of the tombs, and the new survey represents the first attempt to record and map both the settlements and burial mounds in this region.
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This project consists of an excavation and exploration of the environment and resources of the Bronze Age and historical harbor settlement of Priniatikos Pyrgos, located in the west-central Gulf of Mirabello area, eastern Crete. Goals of this project include documenting the cultural history, trade contacts, and industries of the region from the Neolithic through the Venetian and Ottoman periods.
Where
Greece
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The survey found major shifts in the settlement patterns of the island. The Punic and Roman periods developed a landscape of several urban centers within a countryside of villas and farms. The Medieval period (700 CE through 1400 CE) is represented by a densely packed rural environment of small farms and mosques, but no urban entities, and an early modern pattern of new estates and new towns emerges with the inclusion of Jerba into the Ottoman realm.
Where
Tunisia
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Gordion is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Near East, royal capital of King Midas and the place where Alexander the Great was said to have cut the famous Gordian Knot.
Where
Gordion is located near the modern village of Yassıhöyük—100 km southwest of Ankara—in Central Turkey.
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Saronic Harbors Archaeological Research Project (SHARP) focuses on Kalamianos, a Mycenaean harbor town of the 13th century BCE, unique for the extensive surface preservation of architectural foundations and walls. Kalamianos may have been Mycenae’s main Saronic harbor, and is perhaps the Eionai listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships.
Where
Kalamianos is located on the Saronic Gulf coast, near the village of Korphos in southeastern Corinthia province in southern Greece.
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Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project: The Sanctuary of Zeus on Mt. Lykaion was one of the most famous Zeus sanctuaries in the ancient world and was one of the mythological birthplaces of Zeus.
Where
The Sanctuary of Zeus on Mt. Lykaion is located high in the Arkadian mountains, near the borders of Arcadia, Messenia and Elis in Greece. The closest town is Megalopolis, 15 km to the southeast.
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Gordion (Turkey) Paleoethnobotanical and "Ecopark" Project: Appreciating plants in Central Anatolia
Where
Site: Gordion, modern: Yassıhöyük, village: Yassıhöyük Köyü, Turkey
When
Middle Bronze Age to Medieval; Modern; future
Researchers
Dr. Naomi Miller, Penn Museum
John 'Mac' Marston, UCLA
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