June 2019 Newsletter
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June at 2019 From the Director It is a great pleasure to wish everyone cultural environment in which Sir well for an enjoyably productive or Arthur Evans formed his ideas on relaxing — ideally both — summer Minoan Crete after WWI. The day with this fifth issue of our newsletter was rounded off by performances that offers up to date news of of Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Delius’ our activities to all who share our rarely performed Requiem in passion for all aspects of Hellenic the recently refurbished Olympia studies from the Palaeolithic to the Municipal Theatre ‘Maria Callas’. present. Here we profile some of These sit alongside many other our researchers — working across a ongoing partnerships: with the range of subjects from Late Bronze UK Embassy, which kindly hosted Age funerary practice to political a fundraising event for the violence in contemporary Greece Knossos Stra ti gra phical Museum; — and report on our world-class with the Academy of Athens and facilities: the Library and Archive, the the University, who support our Fitch Laboratory and the Knossos annual Philosophy Seminars and Research Centre. Cheers! Silver replica ‘Tame’ Vapheio Cup, made the Frede Memorial Lecture; or the The months since the last issue in Birmingham, donated to the BSA in 2016 many members of universities and have been rich and varied and have by Dr Martin Crossley Evans in memory of other organisations in the UK who further emphasised to me the value Dr Arthur Basil Cottle contribute to our activities, host of our partnerships both in the UK events, or generously donate to us and in Greece. Our long-standing — to an enthusiastic audience in their time and experience. partnership with the Centre for the UK Ambassador’s Residence, Also partners are all who have Hellenic Studies at King’s College followed by a visit to the President of chosen to continue or to commence London not only facilitated events the Hellenic Republic. Current holder support for the BSA at any level like our ‘Translations’ panels and the Gonda van Steen spent a week with — Student, Friend, Pendlebury or recent conference on ‘Popular Music us at the BSA in early April and delivered Director’s Circle — or, indeed, have of the Greek World’, but also brought a powerful and moving lecture on the pledged a legacy and thus become both the former and current holders adoption of Greek children during the members of our 1886 Society. We of the Koraës Chair to Greece. Cold War to a packed Penrose Library. welcome your support and value it Former holder Roderick Beaton A special collaboration with the enormously. delivered two lectures — on Byron Ministry of Culture and Sports, the We hope you find this newsletter and on Venizelos — at our Annual Municipality of Athens and the British informative and enjoyable. Please Meetings in Thessaloniki and Athens Council (now in its 80th year here) feed back reactions and suggestions and presented his latest book — brought an internation al group of to [email protected]. Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation scholars to the BSA to explore the John Bennet BSA People Chryssanthi Papadopoulou UCL/BSA Teacher Study Day in February 2019, delivering a course entitled (Assistant Director 2014–19; ‘Greek Religion’, for which feedback was AG Leventis Fellow 2012–14) unanimously positive. “My term as Assistant Director has “I was delighted to see my edited almost come to an end. Five years have volume The Culture of Ships and Maritime gone by very quickly and another two Narratives appear in January in the BSA before these, when I was the AG Leventis series Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies. Fellow. It has been a wonderful seven I had the opportunity to present aspects years. I was able to meet and work with of my monograph Phenomenological supportive, inspiring people, conduct Readings in Greek Religion, currently research on several different topics — in preparation, to audiences in Oxford from shipwrecks to Classical Athenian and Athens. Continuing that theme, I rituals — and teach the most promising participated once again in the annual and responsive groups of students and at The British School at Athens 2019 – June Left: ‘The Culture of Ships and Maritime Narratives’ (Routledge 2019) Right: Assistant Director Chryssanthi Papadopoulou (right foreground, facing the group) conducts a class on the Acropolis for the BSA Summer Course that has run for 47 years professionals. I cannot yet say what I will published academic papers and an edited public seminar series, represented the miss the most; I suspect my students. volume, and wrote most of my monograph BSA on several delightful occasions in “The BSA is a place where one can think (a summary of which I presented at my Greece and the UK, refurbished rooms and produce, a small hamlet of quiet and last Upper House seminar as Assistant in our Hostel, and met and exchanged reflection in the heart of loud Athens. The Director; see Events Past), travelled ideas with distinguished scholars and heterotopia that is our library and the to present papers in conferences and professionals some of whom I now call oasis of our garden sparked my interest departments of archaeology/classics in my friends. I worked under the direction in spatial perception and the agency of knowledgeable, generous people who of places when I first started working here, were always there to offer advice, support and largely directed my research down It has been a wonderful and encouragement. exciting theoretical paths. Since then and seven years. I was able “Seven years down the line, richer in every time I embarked on a new research to meet and work with friends, knowledge, skills and experience, project, I was encouraged by BSA people “ I am happy and honoured to have served in Athens and the UK. In the BSA we supportive, inspiring people, the BSA faithfully and with determination, do not merely preach multidisciplinarity conduct research on several and I promise to continue to do so after or internationalism; we realise their value different topics … and teach the 30th of June. I am departing with a and necessity, and foster them. Here, great love and admiration for my academic there is room for thinking outside boxes … promising and responsive home, which will never fade, a big smile on and academic disciplines, and several groups of students and my face and a world of gratitude looking important meeting grounds for different professionals back, and much excitement for my new (academic) traditions, disciplines and academic post. I wish the best to my professions. the UK, designed and taught courses in successor, Dr Michael Loy, and hope that “During my tenure, amongst many archaeology , instigated” collaborations, his time too in the BSA will be as exciting, other activities, I conducted fieldwork, organised academic events including a enlightening, productive and rewarding.” “I come to the BSA fresh from Michael Loy (Cambridge) completing a PhD thesis on modelling I hope … to continue introduces himself and outlines his state interactions in the Archaic period. the excellent work of my vision for his new role as Assistant I have been investigating, via various predecessors, and to reach out Director: computational techniques, the political “ and economic networks that some Greek to a wide network of students “I am delighted to be taking up the role and teachers who have not of Assistant Director at the BSA. Having traditionally been involved first come to the BSA as an undergraduate with the work of the BSA on the Summer Course, I fell in love with it and its research environment. It is, polis and non-polis states formed with admittedly, rather surreal to be heading one another throughout the 7th and” 6th back now, a few summers later, in a rather centuries BC. My primary research focus is different capacity — but I am nonetheless on Archaic and Classical Greece, but I am excited to be moving to Athens, and for also interested more broadly in the ancient the new challenges and adventures that world as a whole: archaeological fieldwork lie ahead. has taken me from Roman Britain all the way to Prehistoric Turkey. Over recent years, however, I have worked primarily in Michael Loy (Assistant Greece, and I have been a team member Director 2019–) on projects at Kythera, Olynthos, and Pylos. Out of the field, I am interested in museum 2 www.bsa.ac.uk The British School at Athens 2019 – June at education and public engagement, and I look forward to bringing my experiences and ideas in these areas to the BSA. “Access is at the centre of my vision for the role of Assistant Director. I was state educated in the north of England, and it was outreach initiatives run by the Michael taking University of Cambridge that first put measurements with a total station at Classics (and Cambridge) on my radar; Bronze Age Pylos a few years later, and thanks to winning full scholarships, I was able to study Classics and then Classical Archaeology at Cambridge through to the PhD. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities that have been offered to me, and, as to the BSA and to work on delivering and teachers who have not traditionally a result of my own experiences, I am the Summer Course and the teachers been involved with the work of the BSA. passionate about widening participation programme. I hope throughout my time “I look forward very much to joining in studying the ancient world at both as Assistant Director to continue the the community in Athens — and to university level and in secondary schools. excellent work of my predecessors, and to making the BSA, the city, and Greece my It is a great privilege, therefore, to come reach out to a wide network of students new home.” British Museum International Training Programme (30 June — 11 August 2018) “Two essential parts of the ITP are a ten- alongside three other Fellows, with Drs BSA Archivist Amalia Kakissis day placement at a UK partner museum Ian Jenkins (Senior Curator, Ancient shares her experience of the and presentation of a final project, the Greece) and Ross Thomas (Curator, BM ITP 2018: ‘Object in Focus’ exhibition.