Description of field project:

The archaeological research on Therasia island, within the framework of Therasia survey project, and the ongoing excavation of the Early and Middle Bronze Age hill-top settlement site of Koimisis, at the southern tip of present-day Therasia island, have contributed significantly to the broader understanding of long-term settlement history of Therasia. The systematic archaeological investigation of Therasia island had been conducted by the Ionian University in collaboration with University of Crete and the Ephorate of Cyclades since 2007. The intensive archaeological surface survey, geological survey to study the geological structure and paleotopography of Therasia, and geophysical investigations, conducted concurrently with the ongoing excavation of the settlement site of Koimisis at the southern end of modern Therasia, have created the conditions for a more comprehensive approach to the archaeological landscape of the island.

The site of Koimisis, under excavation since 2014, emerges as a significant Early Bronze Age settlement situated on the imposing hilltop rising on the west side of the pre-eruption Santorini caldera, with a long period of habitation up until the end of the Middle Cycladic period, at which point it was definitively abandoned. The excavation yields new information on the architecture and spatial organisation of Cycladic settlements during the Early and Middle Bronze Age, complementing the picture from Akrotiri, where early phases are preserved in a fragmented manner beneath the buildings of the Late Cycladic town.

Currently, as part of the project, the study of excavation materials is taking place at the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Phira, Santorini. Students will participate in laborotary activities at the museum, which include an archaeometry lab focused on archaeological materials, primarily pottery, as well as ethnoarchaeological activities centered on pottery production techniques. Work at the Museum involves becoming familiar with general issues of ceramic technology, with particular emphasis on the exploitation and processing of raw materials, handmade building techniques, vessel surface treatment, and firing. Practical exercise will be conducted to facilitate the macroscopic identification of ancient pottery fabrics, vessel surface treatment, and the characterization of firing conditions, as deduced from the color of the pottery sherds. Laboratory work also includes an introduction into basic principles of petrographic analysis and experimental archaeology.