February 13, 2017
Celebrating the International Archaeology Day of 2016, the Ephorate of Antiquities of Achaea and Ministry of Culture, Greece organized a three-session educational event called “Archaeologists for a Day” during October 2016. The highly successful event was held at the Mycenaean archaeological park of Voudeni, Patras, Greece. Groups of students, seventy in total, aged 10 to 12 enjoyed the event. Each session started with a brief introduction to the basics of the Mycenaean world, followed by a didactic tour of the most characteristic chamber tomb of the archaeological park, complete with excavation, conservation and drawing tips. The event culminated in a mini-excavation, coordinated by a group of archaeology professionals (archaeologists, conservators and drawing specialists). The groups of students were split into teams, each one responsible for the excavation of a trench. Team members were assigned specific roles (archaeologist, conservator, worker, drawing specialist, photographer). Aspiring and accomplished professionals alike merged into keen and effective teams: strata were carefully excavated, finds meticulously recorded, artefact first-aid promptly offered! By lunch time, the dig was completed, but no one wanted to go! A couple of group-photos and more than a few animated good-byes later, it was time to call it a day for our “Archaeologists for a day” event!
The “Archaeologists for a Day” event was jointly organized and presented by K. Aktypi, M. Gazis and K. Soura, archaeologists, with the participation of N. Zacharopoulou, conservator and A. Sofianopoulou, drawing specialist.
International Archaeology Day Blog
