Category Archives: Greece

Palace of Nestor Excavations & the Griffin Warrior Tomb

Since the summer of 2017, I’ve been heading down to the SW Peloponnese in Greece to work at the Palace of Nestor Excavations directed by the University of Cinncinati. I was brought on to work on the metals finds discovered in the tomb of the “Griffin Warrior” and those artifacts are pretty spectacular. When people find out I work on archaeological excavations they always ask about finding or working on gold (after I get asked what is the coolest object I’ve ever conserved), and now I can say to them I have actually worked on/found on gold on site.

 

hathor-dinolite

Photomicrograph showing the engraving of Hathor’s face on the back surface of a gold pendant excavated outside the area of the Palace of Nestor (image taken from the New York Times article on the excavation)

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“Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?” – Identifying mystery fibers in the field

When conservators are working on archaeological excavations, their work often encompasses many different aspects of field conservation.  This can include materials identification and characterization, lifting fragile artifacts and aiding in archaeological research.  No matter what facet of the project they are involved in, the work can be challenging without the comforts of a well-stocked lab and requires lots of problem solving and improvisation. (continue reading)

mysteryfiber-fig10

 

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