Research projects
Postdoctoral Research: Public Archaeology and Modern Greek Studies: Understanding the Socio-Political and Economic Role of Archaeology in GreeceThis research project was conducted at the Seeger Centre for Hellenic Studies, Princeton University (2012-13). More details will follow.
PhD Thesis: Archaeology for the People? Greek Archaeology and its Public: An Analysis of the Socio-Political and Economic Role of Archaeology in GreeceThe research project was conducted as a doctoral research project at the Institute of Archaeology in University College London (UCL, 2006 – 11) with financial support by the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, the Graduate School, UCL, the Propondis Foundation and the J.F. Costopoulos Foundation.
The project aimed to answer the following questions:
- What has the relationship between archaeology and local communities been in Greece in terms of its social, economic and political impact? How and why has this relationship developed?
- What are the public values of archaeology in Greece and how have they altered under the influence of socio-political and economic change?
- What are the current aims and the objectives of Greek archaeology as identified in the priorities of the Archaeological Service?
- What strategies might archaeology implement in Greece in order to reinforce its socio-political and economic role and become more reciprocal and relevant?
The ultimate question this research project raised is: ‘for whom is archaeology practiced in Greece?’
The project was conducted through the investigation of three case studies and the combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. The local communities of Krenides in Kavala (next to the archaeological site of the ancient city of Philippi), Dispilio in Kastoria (next to the archaeological site of the prehistoric lake settlement of Dispilio) and Delphi in Phokida (next to the archaeological site of the ancient sanctuary of Delphi) were investigated.
Two hundred and eighty-four interviews - questionnaires among the residents of the local communities, 29 semi-structured interviews with local interested parties and archaeologists, comments of participants in the questionnaire survey, field notes, statistical data (state budget, population census, economic activity per area and with regard to tourist services, visitor numbers to archaeological sites and museums), archival material (municipal archives and ICOMOS Documentation Centre), promotional material produced by the relevant municipalities and prefectures were collected. Data was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) and Nvivo (Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software).
The main conclusion of the research project was that the relationship between Greek archaeology and local communities is an arena; formed by the terms the national narrative has set and where a variety of agendas are projected and compete. The supreme ideal of the nation as served by archaeology for the moment seems to make the every day battle between conservation of antiquities and other interests unscathed. However the public good of archaeology, as the legislator envisaged it in the beginnings of the Greek state, is still looked for.
Complex Built Environment Systems (CBES) – Decarbonising the Built Historic Environment and its Unintended Consequences, Centre for Sustainable Heritage, The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, UCL, Research AssistantDetails
2011-12: Researchers Using Existing Workflows to Archive Research Data – REWARD, UCL Library Services, Institute of Archaeology and Ubiquity Press, Researcher and Support Staff in Data ManagementDetails
2010: World Heritage Management Plan for Philippi, Municipality of Kavala and Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Greece, Project Coordinator and Main ContributorDetails
2005 – 06: Archaeology as a Product of Nation-Building: The Case of Greece, Institute of Archaeology, UCL, Master’s DissertationDetails
2004 - 06: Digitisation of the Photographic Archive of Decorative Painting, Objects and Artefacts of Traditional Art (18th-20th c.), Department of History of Art, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, Project Manager and ResearcherDetails
2003 - 04: The Church of Saint Nikolaos in Petra, Lesvos: Iconographic and Stylistic Study of the Painted Decoration (1721), Department of Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, Master’s DissertationDetails
July 2001: Recording Folklore Collections in North-Western Greece Project, Department of History of Art, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, Fieldwork AssistantDetails
