Capturing the Animal in Ancient Greek Religion
Professor Julia Kindt explores the often overlooked importance of animals in ancient Greek religious beliefs and practice. To say that ancient Greek religion brings together gods and humans in a variety of real and symbolic relationships would be to state the obvious: all the major rituals of ancient Greek religion in one way or another …
2020 – A Year in Review: one year of the AAIA blog
As the year draws to a close it is natural to reflect on the year that has been, and what a strange and turbulent year 2020 has turned out to be.
Introducing MAARC: a new initiative connecting Australasian archaeologists working in the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Archaeology Australasian Research Community (MAARC) was conceived in Auckland in February 2020 during the international conference ‘Exchanging Ideas: Trade, Technology and Connectivity and pre-Roman Italy‘ when, over a coffee, we lamented the fact that there was no regional network or annual event that really catered to Mediterranean archaeology. Given that void, we noted …
Surveying the Summer Away: Volunteering on Kythera with APKAS
Nile de Jonge, PhD Candidate at UC San Diego, discovered a love not only of archaeology, but for the island of Kythera, when she took part in the Australian Paliochora Kythera Archaeological Survey project.
Emeritus Professor Alexander Cambitoglou (1922-2019)
We mark with sadness the death of Emeritus Professor Alexander Cambitoglou AO on 29 November 2019. With his passing, we lose one of the most influential figures to have shaped the study of Classical antiquity in Australia.
Covid 19 and Archaeology: A Lesson in Making Things Work
When her fieldwork plans were thrown into chaos by the global pandemic, Emma Jones, an undergraduate student studying archaeology at the University of Sydney, found digital volunteering as a means to stay engaged and learn new skills. Like so many archaeologists, the early months of this year were spent optimistically organising Visas, booking flights and …
Kythera and the gold rush, competing priorities or complementing research?
Richard MacNeill set out to understand the relationship between water catchment and community in Kythera, but ended up shifting to the goldfields of Victoria, Australia. The two are oddly complementary… When I first contemplated post-graduate research I had just returned from participating in the 2016 season of the Australian Paliochora-Kythera Archaeological Survey (APKAS) project in …
Digital Volunteering in 2020
Thomas Romanis, AAIA Volunteer Manager, had to pivot to digital volunteering in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He tells us how it was done.
So, you have just been accepted on your first archaeological dig. What next?
Olivia Gao, an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney, shares her experience and tips on how to prepare for a successful first field season.
The First Excavation Season at Zagora, 1967
John Wade was a student volunteer on the inaugural excavation season at Zagora. He reflects on his experiences. Courtesy of archaeology and the supporters of the then newly formed Association for Classical Archaeology, I took my first trip overseas in 1967, to excavate at Zagora on Andros. Professor Alexander Cambitoglou (known to his associates as …