The Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Centre (STARC) and the Graduate School of the Cyprus Institute successfully organised for the third time an intensive one-week Archaeological Science Summer School “Promoting Archaeological Science in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East: Current work on Organic and Inorganic Materials” (17th-23rd July 2022), led by Dr Evi Margaritis.
The Cyprus Institute Archaeological Science Summer School 2022
The 2022 ‘Promised’ Summer School brought together postgraduate students from universities and institutions from 10 different countries (Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Belgium, Germany, UK, France, Ireland and Italy ) who had the opportunity to take part in a series of intensive workshops delivered by members of STARC, University of Cambridge, KU Leuven, Spanish National Research Council, the Wiener Laboratory, and the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus. It was held at ‘’Stelios Hadjiioannou’’ Environmental Centre of Pedoulas.
The programme included the following sessions:
| Prof M. Collins, University of Cambridge | What can old proteins do for us? |
| Prof T. O’Connell, University of Cambridge |
Isotopic studies in archaeology - the how, the what, the why |
| Dr A. Van Ham-Meert, KU Leuven | The role of Sr isotopic analysis for dendroprovancing – pitfalls and possibilities |
| L. Bonner, University of Cambridge | 'You do what?': Communicating Your Research to the Public |
| Prof M. Martinón-Torres, University of Cambridge | Gold as a material: an introductionComparative approaches to the technology, use and value of gold |
| Dr. M. Gener Moret, University of Cambridge | Early Iron Metallurgy: production, transformation and research challenges. A case study from the Iberian Peninsula |
| Prof V. Kassianidou, University of Cyprus | Revealing the long history of copper production in Cyprus – fieldwork/lab work/archival research |
| Dr D. Fuks, University of Cambridge | Multi-scalar archaeobotanical reconstruction of ancient plant economy: a case study from the Late Antique Negev Highlands |
| Dr A. Hadjikoumis, The Cyprus Institute – STARC | Overview of zooarchaeology in the eastern Mediterranean and two case studies: caprine management in Cyprus and cynophagy in Greece. |
| Dr J. GarcÍa-Granero Fos, Spanish National Research Council | Starch grain and phytolith analyses in archaeology |
| Dr E. Margaritis, The Cyprus Institute – STARC | Integrating excavation and archaeological science: the case of EBA Keros in the Cyclades |
| Dr E. Nikita, The Cyprus Institute – STARC | EMME bioarchaeology: exploring mobility, diet and pathology from prehistory to Medieval times |
| Ms Rebecca Payiata, The Cyprus Institute, Graduate School | The activities of the Cyprus Institute’s Graduate School |
| Professor Th. Rehren, The Cyprus Institute – STARC | Late Bronze Age glass in the EMME region |
| Dr A. Oikonomou, The Cyprus Institute – STARC | Cyprus in the center of glass distribution: new analytical data |
| Dr M. Menu, The Cyprus Institute – STARC | Analysis of prehistoric art |
| Dr A. Cortell, University of Cambridge | Tactical simulation and Agent-Based modelling to understand the past |
| Dr M. Gkouma, The Cyprus Institute – STARC | How are archaeological sites formed? Applications of soil micromorphology to understanding site formation processes. |
| Dr G. Dr G. Artopoulos, N. Loucas, M. Rafat-Saleh, The Cyprus Institute – STARC | Co-creating Immersive Visualisations of Archaeological Sites: Khirokitia VR |
| Dr A. Van Ham-Meert, University of Leuven | The role of Sr isotopic analysis for dendroprovancing – pitfalls and possibilities |
In addition to the above lectures, the participants had a half-day visit to the ancient Skouriotissa mines, and attended pottery and cyanotype workshops.
Summer school participants at the Skouriotissa mines
Participant Mahmoud Mardini said: “The summer school was a great experience as it brought together graduate students working in the Eastern Mediterranean but from very diverse universities and on highly diverse projects. The range of lectures was outstanding, as was the quality of delivery. In addition, we had the opportunity to interact extensively with some of the leading scholars in archaeological sciences (environmental archaeology, bioarchaeology and archaeological materials), as well as with other international students, and start forming our own networks. The workshops on pottery and cyanotype were very informative and engaging. I strongly recommend this summer school to any young scholars working in the Eastern Mediterranean!”
Prof. Thilo Rehren, STARC, gives a presentation on Eastern Mediterranean Late Bronze Age glass
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!
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: https://promisedtwinning.cyi.ac.cy/
