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I am an archaeologist with a focus on the material culture of the Byzantine world. I am currently a VIDI Post-Doctoral Researcher in Amsterdam Archeological Centre.

I studied Archaeology at the Faculty of History and Archaeology at the University of Athens . I continued my postgraduate studies in the UK where I completed a Diploma in Practical Archaeology, an MA in Byzantine Studies and a PhD in Byzantine Archaeology at the University of Birmingham . My PhD entitled Settlements and Settlements Patterns in Late Byzantine North Aegean, was the result of four seasons of extensive field survey on the islands of Lemnos and Thasos and of extensive research of Byzantine monastic archives. My research and the time spent on those islands enhanced my interest in settlement and household archaeology and inspired me to think more about the role of space and place inthe study of past cultures.

Apartfrom my own project, I have also been involved in other archaeological projects in  Greece, Albania, Turkey, the UK and Germany . These experiences have added to my training in excavation techniques, extensive and intensive survey and geophysics and made me appreciate even more the importance of archeological method and theory.

In 2008-2009, I was very fortunate to be a Junior Research Fellow at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington , D.C. where I worked on my first publications and the preparation of my first monograph. During my fellowship, and thanks to great colleagues, I started adopting a more anthropological approach in my work and gradually became more interested in personhood and the negotiation of identities.

Here in Amsterdam , as a member of the VIDI project on Byzantine and Ottoman archaeology, I study and analyze the material culture of four urban sites (Butrint, Athens , Ephesus , Tarsus ). To explore economic and social changes in those sites, we study together with Dr. J. Vroom the use and reuse of architectural features and patterns of pottery circulation and distribution. Part of my role in the project is to reconstruct the history of post-classical Athens , unravel the lives of its inhabitants in the course of twelve centuries and follow its transformation from classical to Medieval, from Byzantine to Ottoman, from city to town, from economic and political center to an archaeological site.

Projects

Byzantine and Ottoman Archaeology

Syropoulos Project

Thisvi-Kastorion project

Events

Together with Dr. J. Vroom,  we are organizing a conference, the ‘First Amsterdam Meeting on Byzantine and Ottoman Archaeology’ in the third weekend (21-23) of October 2011 with the title Fact and Fictionin Medieval and Post-Medieval Ceramics in the Eastern Mediterranean – Are we on the right track?

In combination with the conference,  we are preparing a small exhibition with the title  Life among Ruins: The Eastern Mediterranean in Word and Image (ca. 700 - 2000 AD). The exhibition will take place in the ‘Bijzondere Collecties’ and in the Allard Pierson Museum of the University of Amsterdam during Autumn/Winter 2011.  

Conference_2011

Publications

  ARTICLES:

“ Tracing Monastic Economic Interests and Their Impact on the Rural Landscape of Late Byzantine Lemnos .” In: Dumbarton Oaks Papers 64 (in press; anticipated publication date: late 2011).

“Meeting the locals: peasant families in 13 th century Lemnos.”  In: G. Saint-Guillain and D. Stathakopoulos, Liquid & Multiple: Individuals & Identities in theThirteenth-Century Aegean (Centre de recherche d’Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance, Monographies 36, Paris 20 11) (in press; anticipated publication date: late 2011).

“Changes in the structure and wealth of the Late Byzantine family.” In: S. Tougher and L. Brubaker, Approaches to the Byzantine Family (Ashgate Publishing; under contract; anticipated publication date: late 2012).

“The logistics of a Union: The travelling arrangements.” In: F. Kondyli et al., Themes and Problems in Sylvester Syropoulos’ Memoirs, Book IV- a Byzantine view of politics and culture in the 15 th century Mediterranean (Ashgate Publishing; under contract; anticipated publication date: late 2012).

“Settlement patterns, regional diversity and a long lived landscape: Exploring Byzantium through regional survey.” In: W. Caraher and K. Kourelis,  Beyond Icons: Theory and Method  in Byzantine Archaeology (in preparation).

“Fortification networks in Late Byzantine Northern Aegean.” (in preparation).

 

EDITED BOOKS:

Co edited with Vera Andriopoulou, Eirini Panou and Mary Cunningham: Themes and Problems in Sylvester Syropoulos’ Memoirs, Book IV- a Byzantine view of politics and culture in the 15 th century Mediterranean  (Ashgate Publishing; under contract; anticipated publication date: late 2012). 

 

MONOGRAPHS:

Making sense of the rural landscape: Late Byzantine settlements patterns and economic exploitation on the islands of Lemnos and Thasos (in preparation).