The Dynamics of a Greek Island Town: New Fieldwork on Paliokastro, Kythera Colloquium

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Prof. Cyprian Broodbank wil give a talk about The Dynamics of a Greek Island Town: New Fieldwork on Paliokastro, Kyther. Ancient Greek towns and the communities that inhabited them constitute some of the most remarkable early urban settlements, both intrinsically and from a comparative perspective. Yet despite their enduring prominence, and copious text-based analyses, surprisingly few comprehensive archaeological efforts have been made to understand their long-term historical dynamics and material signatures. Recent collaborative fieldwork at Paliokastro, the ancient town of Kythera, aims to demonstrate how much can be swiftly learnt about an early Aegean town through a combination of new approaches based around intensive survey in association with above- and below-ground sensing technologies and materials analysis. The dynamics of the ancient town are understood within the changing wider island landscapes and interactions previously explored by the Kythera Island Project.

Cyprian Broodbank is John Disney Professor of Archaeology and Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at Cambridge University, where he has also served as Head of the newly enlarged Department of Archaeology. He was previously Professor of Mediterranean Archaeology at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, which institution he initially joined as Lecturer in Aegean Archaeology. He holds a BA from Oxford in Modern History, a Masters from Bristol University and a PhD from Cambridge. His books, An Island Archaeology of the Early Cyclades and The Making of the Middle Sea, have won several awards, including the Runciman, James R. Wiseman, Wolfson History and Nonino prizes. He was recently elected to a Fellowship of the British Academy.

Date: Wednesday 21 November 2018

Time: 16:00

Venue: The Cyprus Institute – Guy Ourisson Building, Seminar Room, 1st Floor, Athalassa Campus