Ancient Technologies and Crafts 1-12 July 2013, Thessaloniki, Greece

Διεθνές Πανεπιστήμιο της Ελλάδος

Course Summary

Progress and innovation in technology were of exceptional importance for the development of ancient societies. Ancient technologies and crafts are of interest to archaeologists, historians and other scientists as well. The International Hellenic University Summer School in Ancient Technologies and Crafts offers the opportunity to study different aspects of the technological advances of ancient cultures, mainly that of ancient Greece, revealing the unique technological level that in fact the ancient civilizations had reached.

During the course, the state of the art in historical research along with the recent scientific techniques applied to the analysis of archaeological findings will be presented by senior academics and field archaeologists who are experts in various research areas, such as the exploitation of natural resources, the crafts exercised in everyday life or recorded by state bureaucracy, the building and naval technologies, the outcomes of the interconnection between technology and science or technology and ideology, etc.

Program Structure

The series of lectures are arranged in three interconnected themes. Every year the school will focus on at least two research areas from each theme, with a variety of lectures offered for each field. For 2013, the series of lectures offered are:

Introductory Lecture: An Introduction to the Ancient Greek Technology, by Prof. Dr Th. Tassios, Civil engineer, Professor Emeritus, National Technical University, Athens, Greece, President of the Association of Ancient Greek Technology Studies, Member of the Academy of Sciences of Turin.

1. From Material Resources to Final Products
Textile Manufacture: From Fibre to Fabric, by Prof. Dr Marie-Louise Nosch, Director of the Centre for Textile Research (CTR), Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen, Holder of the Onassis scholarship for 2013.

Pre-Romam Glassworking, by Dr Despina Ignatiadou, Curator of Metalwork, Associate Director, Archaeological Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Roman and Byzantine Glassworking, by Dr Anastassios Antonaras, Archaeologist, Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, Greece, General Secretary in the council of the Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre-AIHV.

2. Ancient Technology and Science

Metal Alloys and Recipes, by Dr Yannis Bassiakos, Geologist, Research Director, Institute of Materials Science, National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Editor-in-Chief, J. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (by Springer).

Standards in Technology and Economy, by Dr Anna Michailidou, Research Director Emerita, Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, Institute of Historical Research, The National Hellenic Research Foundation, Member of the research team at Akrotiri excavations, Santorini.

Writing as Communication Technology, by Dr Vassilis Petrakis, Affiliated Researcher at the Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, Institute of Historical Research, The National Hellenic Research Foundation.

The Antikythera Mechanism: Astronomy and Technology in Ancient Greece, by Prof. Dr J.H. Seiradakis, Professor of Astronomy, Director of the Laboratory of Astronomy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, Member of  “Pulse” team that was awarded the EU 2005 Descartes Prize for Research.

3. Technology, Art and Ideology

Building Technology and Archaeological Landscapes, by Prof. Dr C. Palyvou, Professor of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Before restoring an architectural monument  you  need to know all about its body and soul: the case of the Propylaia, by Dr A. Tanoulas, Architect, Collaborator of the Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments.

Technology, Art and Ideology in Ancient Greek Painting, by Prof. Dr Chryssoula Paliadeli, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Director of the excavations at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece.

Archaeological Landscapes through the Eyes of Artist-Travelers, by Dr F.M. Tsigakou, Art Historian, Curator of Paintings, Prints, and Drawings at the Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece.

Program Director: 
Dr Anna Michailidou, Research Director Emerita, Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, Institute of Historical Research, The National Hellenic Research Foundation.

The aim of this 2-week intensive school is to make the participants more acquainted with aspects of ancient technologies by providing up-to-date knowledge presented and discussed by the experts of  the relevant fields. It is of great  benefit for the students to study ancient technologies and crafts in a location such as Northern Greece where in recent years major works in preservation have been accomplished by applying modern techniques and ideas and the  museum exhibitions display impressive results of ancient technologies. 

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