Students in the drainage channel at Eleutherna
Summer Session II visited an astounding 100 sites and museums this year. In a trip comprised of nothing but great memories, among the happiest moments were those spent in some less commonly visited spots. For example, by standing in the ancient cisterns at Eleutherna, we gained a greater appreciation for the amount of water necessary to supply a substantial city. Melidoni cave brought together the ancient and modern with its Minoan to Roman period shrine in the deep recesses, and its monument to those who perished there in the 19th century. The broad array of Minoan burial customs was evident at Phourni and Armenoi. Quiet pleasure was found in the lovely villages of Arachova and Makrynitsa.
Multiple friendships were forged between students and locals in various venues from Chania to Thessaloniki, and that was certainly one of the most rewarding aspects of the summer. The students listened attentively as Lefteris Kazatsanidis, chief mining engineer for Dionyso Quarries on Mt. Pendeli, drove us through the quarries and explained each step of producing a piece of usable marble. The Dionyso quarries are the source of the marble being used in the restoration of the buildings on the Acropolis. We were all surprised to learn that 95% of the marble quarried is ground into dust! We were even treated to a demonstration of the diamond saw used in cutting marble blocks. From the choice of a place in the quarry to work to the final polishing, Mr. Kazatsanidis' patient demonstration added greatly to our understanding of the difficulties and the possibilities of working with marble.
Lefteris Kazatsanides shows students the diamond saw
Another high point was the visit to the sculpture shop of Mr. Nikolaos Georgiou in Athens. Although he did receive some formal training, Mr. Georgiou learned the craft of sculpting from his father who in turn had learned it from his father. He was generous with his time and expertise, and he drew literal gasps when he showed us the clay model for an original piece of sculpture that he was working on at the time. His remarks about the nature of the art of sculpting provided great insight into the mind of the artist. Mr. Georgiou also demonstrated for the students exactly how a pointing machine works and spoke at length about the various tasks in a sculptor's shop.
In keeping with the theme of craftsmanship in the ancient and modern world, Summer Session II also paid a brief visit to an olive oil processing plant where we were treated to a discussion of how much oil a tree can produce, what the life expectancy is for a tree, how many years of that life will be productive and so on.
This group of students took a keen interest in the events of the War of Independence. We visited many sites connected with the struggle for a free and united Greece, including the monastery at Arkadi on Crete, Dhervenakia Pass, a walking tour of Nafplion, Gravia where Androutsos danced with his one hundred soldiers, and Navarino Bay. Twentieth-century conflicts were remembered in visits to the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Suda Bay to pay respects to John Pendlebury among others, the village, museum, and monument at Dhistomo, and the World War I cemetery at Brallos.
We were fortunate to receive help from many non-U.S. scholars along our journey. Among those who presented various sites were Maud Devolder of the French Archaeological School who took time to show us through Malia; Dr. Evrydiki Kefalidou who provided a thoughtful and humorous tour of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki; Dr. Ulrich Thaler and Suzanne Prillwitz who spent a warm afternoon with us at Tiryns; Mrs. Efi Kinias who spoke to us about the disaster at Dhistomo; and Mr. Alexandros Vouvis who walked us through the site of Pella.
Of course one of the great joys of the Summer Session is the opportunity to meet and hear the excavators of so many different sites: Prof. John McK. Camp II in the Agora explaining the fine points of Doric architecture; Jonathan Flood showing us volcanic ash from Thera at Mochlos; Drs. Vance Watrous and John Younger at Gournia explaining what their student excavators were finding even as we watched; Drs. Kim Shelton and Lynn Kvapil at Mycenai where a worshiper of the Olympian gods commanded our attention briefly; and countless others. We were fortunate to have an excellent array of different approaches to sites set before us. We would like to express here our gratitude to those who took time from their schedules to show us around and to answer patiently our many questions about the history and details of the excavation of their sites. It is those speakers who in large part deserve the credit for making the Summer Session the wonderful experience that it is, but it is the students who made this particular Summer Session a sheer delight.
Through multiple Minoan and Mycenaean palaces, countless temples and shrines, and a myriad of modern sites, the students of Summer Session II (and now alumni of ASCSA) showed themselves to be a remarkable, inimitable bunch of comrades. In addition the fine job they did on their assigned reports, some of them even took on extra reports (sometimes on a moment's notice!) and did a terrific job on those as well. No word of complaint was heard when lunches were late or days were long and hot. Cheerful, determined, attentive, kind, patient, mutually supportive, and energetic, they took full advantage of all the planning and preparation for the Summer Session. I can't say enough good things about them. It was an honor to lead them through the country we all consider our second home.
— Tim Winters
