Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!

~Dr. David Breeckner, Executive Director     
       
Greetings from Greece!

Since 2011 when I first started as a wide-eyed student volunteer, I have been working with the Priniatikos Pyrgos Project, exploring the history of an ancient settlement on the north-eastern shores of Crete, in the Greek Mediterranean.  Priniatikos Pyrgos is a multigenerational settlement, with a history of occupation and activity extending back over the last 5,000 years.

My job in all of this?  I am a ceramic archaeologist, and since 2012 I have spent my summers studying the pottery of the ancient Minoans during their Protopalatial Period (1900-1700 BCE).  There is a saying about ancient Greek pottery -- it's ubiquitous.  It's literally everywhere!

From its study, we can learn any number of things about its creators.  From a study of the types of pottery represented, we can see the sort of activities ancient peoples were doing: does the site have cooking pots?  How about storage vessels?  Any luxury goods? Was there a pottery workshop?  The physical make-up of a piece of pottery -- the minerals included in its construction -- can tell us where it was made and, if not local, who the Minoans of Priniatikos Pyrgos were trading with.  But wait, there's more!  Looking at the decorative style of pottery can even help us to understand the artistic values of these ancient peoples -- what was in vogue at the time, what was the latest decorative trend.

This year marks the last year of my research with the Project.  Together, these 7 years of study have helped us to explore and rediscover a lost people and ancient past.  It will be sad to say goodbye at the end of this week, but I'm sure to enjoy my time while it lasts and look forward to sharing that experience and knowledge in full in the later publication.  Stay tuned!