IFA Archaeology Journal

Fieldwork and Research in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace, 2021

Despite the pandemic, we were able to make excellent advances in research related to the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace. We had a lively virtual colloquium at the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in January. In April, we held the virtual symposium, “From the Vantage of the Victory: The Sanctuary of the Great Gods and the Island of Samothrace.” This event marked the culmination of the National Endowment for the Humanities-supported collaborative research project centered on the Nike of Samothrace and the area of the sanctuary which was once her home. The symposium featured 18 scholars from eight different academic and cultural institutions presenting the results of nearly five years of research. They were joined by nearly 200 members of the public hailing from 13 different countries. Also as part of the NEH project, we completed an on-line exhibition of finds from the Stoa Plateau, and improved the texts for the western region of the interactive plan.

We used our new expertise on Zoom and Teams to work intercontinentally, particularly on some of our 3D modeling projects, such as the reconstruction of the ram and the plaster lion heads from the Nike Monument.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we again postponed our full excavation field season. However, a small team held a brief study and research season that was very successful. We assisted our Greek colleagues in completing the anastylosis (partial reconstruction) of the Dedication of Philip III and Alexander IV and the Hall of Choral Dancers for the new display in the Archaeological Museum of Samothrace. We also helped by cleaning blocks of the Nike Monument for display, providing information for object labels for the new museum installations, and organizing the new storage facilities. Through the generosity of the Lehmann Family Foundation and Walter Lehmann, the plaque honoring Karl Lehmann now has a new Thasian marble mount and is reinstalled on the façade of the Archaeological Museum of Samothrace.  Immediately adjacent is a full marble replica of the Winged Victory.

In conjunction with our project to publish the western region of the Sanctuary, we continued work on the architectural reconstruction of the Stoa, reviewed all of the stone material collected in the area of the Nike Monument, and collected the data for 3D photogrammetric models of any fragments that might contribute to our understanding of the architecture. Alexandros Laftsidis completed the analysis of the pottery found in the area of the Nike Monument. As part of our commitment to the longer history of the region, Byzantinist Fotini Kondyli examined pottery related to the major post-antique monuments, including the Byzantine fort on the Lower Terrace, the Byzantine industrial complex on the Intermediate Terrace, and the late antique rooms and fortifications on the Stoa plateau, providing excellent chronological indicators for the continued vitality of the region during the 10th-15th centuries. A great success of the season was the opportunity for conservators, Brittany Dinneen, Elli Mantzana and Michael Morris, to work collaboratively on major site management plans, focusing on priorities and protocols for future work in the Sanctuary. 

In other good news, we were featured as the cover story for the September/October issue of Archaeology Magazine, which now can be read on-line.

We remain hopeful that 2022 will allow for a full return to the field.