Commentary: Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeology of Greece
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Commentary: Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeology of Greece Timothy E. Gregory
Published online: 27 February 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract Recent work by archaeologists emphasized the contributions of archaeological fieldwork to the study of post-classical Greece. This marks a significant departure from traditional approaches to the archaeology of Byzantium that tended to focus on art historical methods and architectural history. Despite these changes in the study of post-classical Greece, the issues of abandonment, continuity and change continue to play an important role both in ongoing debates and will undoubtedly influence future research priorities. Only collaboration among scholars who study historical archaeology in Greece and elsewhere will ensure the continued relevance of this field even as these long-standing debates wane in relevance. Keywords Continuity . Byzantium . Dark Ages . Ethnoarchaeology I am happy to comment on the papers in this first session of the Medieval and Post Medieval Greek Archaeology Interest Group of the Archaeological Institute of America presented on January 5, 2007. But I am even happier to have heard a fine series of papers by a promising group of young scholars. I am sure I don’t have to remind this audience that a generation ago a session such as this would have been unthinkable and the few people who were working in the archaeology of medieval and post-medieval Greece had to do so almost in secret. Indeed, there exists even now a feeling in some quarters that there is no archaeology of this period properly speaking. Thus, many scholars would admit that the fields of art history, ethnography, and ethnoarchaeology are proper for the post-classical periods, but that archaeology itself is not a proper tool for them. Over the past few years some serious attempts have been made to practice the archaeology of post-classical Greece and it is heartening to see scholars of the caliber of Charles K. Williams II (Williams et al. 1997; Williams and Zervos 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996;), Pierre T. E. Gregory (*) Department of History, The Ohio State University, 230 West 17th Ave., 106 Dulles Hall, Columbus, OH 43210-1367, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Int J Histor Archaeol (2010) 14:302–307
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Aupert (1980a, b), and Davis (1991; Cherry et al. 1991) making serious contributions to the field. At the same time, I would like to second Kostis Kourelis’ (2007) observation that this phenomenon is not exactly new, but in fact represents a return to an older tradition in which the later periods of Greek history were treated seriously and viewed with an interest equal to that for earlier eras (e.g., Bon 1951, 1969; Mommsen 1868). This is a further reminder to those of us working in later periods of Greek history that we do not need to feel any need to take part in a “cultural cringe,” and that the material we deal with is worthy of study in and of itself. It is also encouraging to me to see that all the papers in this session approach their subjects from the perspec
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