By Artemios Oikonomou, Associate Editor for Archaeological Glass, and Evi Margaritis, STARC, The Cyprus Institute
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| The 2021 Archaeological Science Summer School cohorts |
The Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Centre (STARC) of the Cyprus Institute organised an intensive one-week Archaeological Science Summer School “Ancient Landscapes: Raw Materials and Natural Resources” (26th-31st July, 2021), led by Dr Evi Margaritis.
The 2021 ‘Promised’ Summer School brought together postgraduate students from universities and institutions from 6 different countries (Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Belgium and Italy ) who had the opportunity to take part in a series of intensive workshops delivered by members of STARC, KU Leuven, and the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus. It was held at ‘’Stelios Hadjiioannou’’ Environmental Centre of Pedoulas.
Participant Carly Henkel said: ‘’The school itself took place in the scenic village of Pedoulas, located in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus. This unique setting facilitated a dynamic learning environment that included lessons in the both the classroom and laboratory at the village’s Environmental Centre, as well as field excursions to nearby historical and archaeological sites. The in-person and hands-on experiences was a novel aspect of the summer school that captivated the students interest and helped them gain a better understanding of unfamiliar topics. One of the most rewarding features of the program, however, was the limited number of participants, which quickly created a communal atmosphere between the students and their lecturers. As a result, some lessons were able to be delivered in an interactive manner that enhanced the students’ learning outcome.”
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| Dr Evi Margaritis, STARC, The Cyprus Institute, gave a presentation on eastern Mediterranean archaeobotany |
Dimitra Machaira, an MSc student at the Leiden University who also participated at the summer school said: “The Summer School program far exceeded my expectations in every aspect. Who could imagine that in a period as short as one week you could learn so much, have so many experiences and make new friendships. The balance between lectures, exploring the area and social events was extremely valuable and was absolutely worth the time. The most impressive thing is that you have the chance to have discussions with master lecturers in their field and get an insight into many different parts of Archaeological Sciences. Every day it was like another piece of the puzzle that led to a complete picture of the field. To sum up, it was an inspirational experience that no one should miss. I would even be excited to continue my relationship with STARC in the future.”
Mohamed El Morsi, Executive Director of the Conservation center at The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, joined the summer school and said: “It was a great importance to me and my work to participate in the training school "Ancient Landscapes: Raw Materials and Natural Resources" Cyprus 2021, which was closely acquainted with Archeology and the acquisition of new skills in the field of archaeology.
In the village of Pedoulas in the Troodos mountain, The summer school was organized around an intensive series of daily lectures from leading archaeological scientists from STARC and the Universities of Cyprus, Cambridge and Leuven which was very useful for me to examine a range of factors that led glass to its first appearance and explore current ways to determine the chemical and isotopic composition of ancient glass, also how the use of geochemical techniques in archaeology and archaeological prospecting is discussed, techniques from isotope geochemistry, and how they are applied to archaeological science.it was important for me to have an overview of archaeological ceramics’ life cycle, explore the role of the natural resources within different geographical zones and the transformation of these landscapes culturally and economically during on the Bronze Age, through the lens of the archaeobotanical remains and archaeometallurgy and what is the methodology of recording and interpreting archaeometallurgical remains.
In the end, I look forward to attending more of these training schools and participate in more practical studies in the field of archeology at your distinguished institute, the Cyprus Institute.”
Finally, Oleh Yatsuk, a PhD student at the University of Turin said: “The summer school organized by the STARC group of the Cyprus Institute was the first social convention of scientific nature that I had an occasion to participate in person for a long time. I was awaiting it with a great impatience. Certainly, high expectations have built up but they were all met from the start.
My main interest - archaeometry of glass, was represented very well by people that I knew by their publications for several years now and there I have finally met them in person. My great excitement transformed into dozens of questions, probably to some discontent of the speakers but I was not sorry at all. I had a chance to grasp the approach to certain problems in the glass studies and clarified questions that are important but were not prioritized in my work.
Of course, this summer school was not only about glass. I listened with great interest lectures about ceramics, metals, geochemical surveys, dendrochronology and the studies of ancient agricultural practices. To me, the most valuable part of everything that was said in the course of presentations was to understand people’s perspectives, views and preferred directions of their research.
But summer schools are not only about academic insights. They are about people. Mingling was never my strong suit but the company was so nice that I felt comfortable even to dance (those who know me would not believe this). Maybe I am too optimistic but I believe I have met many friends there. My hopes are high to meet them again sometime soon.
Troodos mountains and Pedoulas village in particular was a very appreciated choice of location. We had a chance to learn about micro history of the region which is my favourite kind of history. I had several completely new experiences: bird watching and clay modelling.
In conclusion, personally for me, this summer school was the highlight of this summer. I am grateful for the organization and hospitality.“
The Promised Team would like to thank Dr Aravella Zachariou, who is in charge of the Environmental Centre and her colleagues Simoni Partakidou, Thalia Michael and Spyros Geroudis for their great help and support!
We are pleased to announce that the Promised project will run a summer school again in July 2022.
Keep an eye out for the full announcement, including how to apply!!
The Summer School was organised as part of the activities of the Horizon 2020 project “PROMISED: Promoting Archaeological Science in the Eastern Mediterranean - agreement No 811068.”
For more information about the PROMISED project please see:
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