Dr Maria Tsimpidou-Avlonitou was born and studied in Thessaloniki, gaining her PhD in Classical Archaeology and History of Art at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Until 2011, she was Head of the Department of Archaeological Sites, Monuments and Research of the former 16th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. She has excavated mostly in Thessaloniki, its surroundings, and its ancient cemeteries of the Hellenistic and early Roman periods. Focusing mainly on the research of Macedonian tombs and ancient funerary painting, she has published one book and more than sixty scientific articles and participated in several International Conferences.

In 1987, a large Macedonian tomb was uncovered in the area of Phoinikas, east of Thessaloniki. The façade of the monument is particularly impressive, as coloured plaster emphasises the architectural elements of the Doric entablature. The decoration of the façade includes a painted composition on the pediment. Despite its deterioration, one can discern two reclining warriors at the edges, while the central scene depicts a man shaking hands with a seated figure (the gesture of dexiosis). Other male figures, leading a robust horse, march towards the central scene.

Although looted, several finds attest that the tomb was built in the beginning of the last quarter of the 4th c. BC, for a senior army officer and his wife. This monument is the most impressive example of this type in the area of Thessaloniki and one of the earliest known Macedonian tombs.
Moreover, in 1994, excavations of the large tumulus on the east end of Aghios Athanassios, a modern town, about 20 km west of Thessaloniki, yielded a small one-chamber Macedonian tomb which had also been looted in antiquity. Its façade was covered with paintings in a superb state of preservation.
The unique painted frieze above the entrance, depicts for the first time on a funerary monument in Greece, a subject known mostly from vase painting and literary sources: the symposion scene. The way in which the figures are rendered is impressive and the dark background accentuates a rich variety of colours. In the centre, six men, reclining on couches, listen to the music of a kithara and a flute played by the only two female figures in the composition. Two more groups of figures are on their way to join the central scene; the characteristic weapons and military attire of the men leave no doubt that we are witnessing a symposion taking place in Macedonia. Equally impressive are the almost life-size figures of two young men, depicted by the entrance of the tomb, eternally guarding the owner of the tomb, most probably a senior officer of the Royal Macedonian army.

Thus, these tombs, dated to the last quarter of the 4th century BC, in addition to the astonishing examples discovered at other sites in northern Greece, provide important evidence for the study of monumental ancient painting which up to recently was believed to be lost forever.

This promises to be a fascinating, illustrated presentation by a diligent excavator and I very much hope that you will join us on Tuesday, 28th May 2024.

Save the Date: GACUK Annual Matti Egon Lecture

Join us on the 5th December for a unique evening at the GACUK Annual Matti Egon Lecture, featuring Michael Wood, Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester and esteemed broadcaster. He will be presenting his fresh insights and research in a captivating talk entitled, "The True Story of the Trojan War?"

Date: Tuesday, December 5th, 2023
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Great Hall, The Hellenic Centre Address: 16-18 Paddington Street, London, W1U 5AS

In this presentation, Michael Wood will delve into a fresh perspective on the Trojan War narrative. He will explore compelling evidence that suggests a real conflict in the early 13th century BCE could be the historical basis for the legendary tale.

This event is also a fundraiser for the Greek Archaeological Committee's UK Scholarship Fund (GACUK).

Ticket Information:

General Admission: £25 (Live attendance or Zoom access)
Student Concession: £10

Click on the given link to register!

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to gain new insights into the ancient world of Troy while supporting the Charity's mission.

An illustrated talk by Associate Professor Antonis Kotsonas, New York University, entitled 'Lyktos, “the most ancient city in Crete, and the source of the bravest men” (Polyb. 4.54): From foundation to destruction.’

For those attending live, King’s College requires registration in advance at the Eventbrite link, as follows: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/first-annual-matti-egon-memorial-lecture-tickets-432130803867

Dear Patrons, Members and Friends,

The Greek Archaeological Committee (UK) is very pleased to invite you to its 63rd lecture, entitled, “Excavating the past and its people: a fortified settlement and its cemetery at Xobourgo on the island of Tenos”, by Dr Nota Kourou, Professor Emerita of the University of Athens, on Thursday 31st March 2022 at 6pm UK (8pm Greece). The lecture will be given online via ZOOM. To participate, it is necessary to register in advance, so please click on the provided link.

Dr Nota Kourou read History and Archaeology at the University of Athens and continued her studies at Somerville College, Oxford, where she was awarded her doctorate in 1979. Returning to the University of Athens she was appointed lecturer and in 2001 Professor of Greek Early Iron Age and Classical Archaeology. Since 2013 she has been directing the University’s excavations at Xobourgo, on the island of Tenos.
As a Visiting Professor she has lectured as Onassis Scholar at universities in the United States, as a AIAA scholar in Australia, as well as in Lebanon, Jordan, in France, Italy, Switzerland and Cyprus. She also served as Visiting Professor in 2013-14 at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Professor Nota Kourou has published three important monographs: Το Νότιο Νεκροταφείο της Νάξου (Αθήνα 1999), CVA Greece 8, Athens 5. Attic and Atticizing Amphorae of the Protogeometric and GeometricPeriods (Athens 2002), Pots and Graves. The Lost Cemeteries of Early Iron Age Tenos, Ét. d’Arch. 18 (Bruxelles 2021). She has co-authored four books, two in English, written more than 100 articles, published in peer reviewed journals, and several book reviews. She has attended more than 100 conferences presenting papers in many of them and is currently serving on editorial committees of several scholarly journals (AION, AURA, Annuario, Carthage Studies et al.). She is a member of the Archaeological Society at Athens, the Society of Euboean Studies and of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens. In 2017 her numerous students and colleagues presented her with a Festschrift entitled “ΤΕΡΨΙΣ. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology in honour of Nota Kourou,’ Ét. d’Arch. 10, Bruxelles.

The large, fortified settlement excavated on the southern slopes of the abrupt granite hill of Xobourgo, at the centre of the southern part of the island of Tenos, seems to have been operating as the main economic and political centre of the island for several centuries, from the 10th down to the end of the 4th century BC. Named Polis in ancient inscriptions, it represents a typical island capital and together with the cemetery of the Classical period excavated outside the walls, it gives a comprehensive idea of the island’s past and its people. Traces of ancestral cult revealed just outside the cyclopean fortification of the first settlement, define a ‘sacred place’, where the ancestors were ritually honoured. The distinct phases of this sacred place excavated at the south-western part of the hill seem to represent the successive steps taken by the inhabitants of the early settlement to keep pace with current political and religious advancements in other main parts of Greece, while some grave stelae of high quality, made of local marble, seem to confirm such challenges during the Classical period as well. As the excavation continues since1995, the numerous parts of the settlement revealed, offer a good example of an island capital and its topography, while the large number of finds in clay, metal, marble and even precious materials offer a panorama of an island settlement and its people in antiquity.

This promises to be a fascinating illustrated presentation by a diligent archaeologist. I very much hope that you can join us on 31st March 2022.

Register in advance for the webinar by clicking on the provided link.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar.

Zetta Theodoropoulou Polychroniadis, PhD

Chair

The Greek Archaeological Committee UK takes great pleasure in inviting you to its 62nd lecture given by Dr Thanos Veremis, Professor Emeritus of Political History, University of Athens, entitled “From a Pre-Modern Society to the Modern Greek Nation-State”, on 3rd December 2021, at 6pm (UK time), 8pm (Greek time). Dr Kevin Featherstone, who is “Eleftherios Venizelos” Professor in Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor in European Politics at LSE, will conclude the event with a conversation on the subject with the speaker. Despite some similar events taking place live, the Committee decided it would be safer to have the lecture online via ZOOM. To participate, it is necessary to register in advance.

Thanos Veremis was awarded his Doctorate by the University of Oxford. He is Professor Emeritus of Political History at the University of Athens, Department of European and International Studies and is a Founding Member of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). During his long academic career, he has been Research Associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, between 1978-79, a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for European Studies at Harvard University in 1983, and in 1987 Visiting Professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, at Princeton University. In 1993-94 he was Visiting Fellow at St. Antony’s College, Oxford and during 2000-2003, he was the “Constantine Karamanlis” Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford Massachusetts. Between 2004 and 2010 he served as President of the National Council of Education. A prolific writer who has published extensively, he has focused on modern Greece’s political history. Among his more recent publications are: A Modern History of the Balkans. Nationalism and Identity in Southeast Europe, I.B.Tauris, 2017, Eleftherios Venizelos: A Biography, Pella Publishers (2011), Modern Greece: A History since
1821, Wiley- Blackwell (2010), Greece.

The Christian Orthodox revolutionaries of 1821 begin their insurrection as a premodern, segmented society and by the end of the war, ten years later, as a modern Greek nation – state, under the guidance of President Ioannis Kapodistrias. The mobility that was a necessity to the insurgents because of the war of Independence, brought them into contact with their compatriots in the Peloponnese, Central Greece, and the islands, as well as numerous members of the Greek Diaspora. The escape from a provincial identity of a pre-modern past into a secular national future, became the legacy of Modern Greece. The speaker will discuss the contact between the insurgents and the Greek diaspora and focus on the legacy of the diaspora as a vital factor in the emergence of the modern nation state. The National Assemblies between 1821 and 1827 provided the Greek cause with the ideological equipment of constitutional regimes. This however did not prevent civil wars from occurring between the revolutionaries. Unlike the French civil strife between urban centers and the countryside, the Greek case of civil war was one between central Greece (Roumeli) southern Greece (Moreas) and Hydra. In spite of this cause of disruption, the revolution was crowned with success.

This promises to be an appropriate tribute to the bicentenary celebrations, given by two eminent
academics of international standing and I sincerely hope that you can join us on the evening of
3rd December 2021.

Zetta Theodoropoulou Polychroniadis
Chair
5th November 2021

Dr Yiannis Papadatos is Associate Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology in the Department of History and Archaeology, at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He received his degree on Archaeology and History of Art from the University of Athens (1994), and his PhD on Prehistoric Archaeology from the University of Sheffield (1999). He has also worked as Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield, as contract archaeologist for the Greek Archaeological Service, and adjunct lecturer in the Hellenic Open University. He is the director of several fieldwork projects, including the Minoan mountain building at Gaidourofas, the Minoan peak sanctuary at Stavromenos at Anatoli Ierapetra, both in Crete and at Marathon-Plasi. He is a member of the organizing committee of the Minoan Seminar, and he has organized several international conferences and workshops in Greece and the UK. His publications include several monographs, edited volumes, and papers.The excavations of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens which commenced in 2014, under the direction of our speaker, is a collective project of the Department of Archaeology and History of Art. The scientific team for study and publication consists of members of staff and research students of the Department. (https://www.marathonexcavations.arch.uoa.gr).

Despite their limited and rescue character, the first excavations by Mastrokostas and Marinatos in 1969-70, showed the importance and extent of the Plasi site in Marathon, some 1.5km from the Tumulus of the Athenians. The systematic excavation of Plasi has reinforced the initial hypothesis that the site was the main focus of human activity in the plain of Marathon for almost 3 millennia, from the Final Neolithic to at least the Hellenistic period. So far, the excavation has revealed remains of a fortified settlement of the Early and Middle Bronze Age, an extensive cemetery of the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, a settlement of the Mycenaean period, a cemetery of the Early Iron Age, a sanctuary of the Archaic period, and extensive architectural remains of the late Classical/Hellenistic period. The speaker will address the implications of these finds for our understanding of the history of Marathon, from prehistory down to the phases just before and after the great battle.

The speaker will also mention the use of modern excavation techniques and digital methods of recording. These ensure that future archaeologists will acquire all the necessary skills and competences through the excavation of a broad array of contexts (domestic, funerary, ritual), dated to many different periods. Finally, public awareness regarding archaeological practice and protection of cultural heritage will be discussed together with feedback from the local community and beyond.

This promises to be a fascinating, well-illustrated presentation, given by the Director of the excavation of this emblematic site and I sincerely hope that you can join us on the evening of the 25th May.

The Greek Archaeological Committee UK held its 60th lecture entitled “Excavating the Cradle of an Imperial Dynasty: The Material Culture and Prosopography of Byzantine Amorion” by Dr Olga Karagiorgou and Dr Nikos Tsivikis. The lecture was dedicated to the memory of Matti Egon, our founder and benefactor and was delivered via the ZOOM platform courtesy of the British School at Athens, on Thursday 3rd December 2020.
If you wish to see it again click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWr3NsTdVjw&t=19s

Dr Elena Korka, Director of the excavation project of Ancient Tenea and Honorary General Director of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, consultant of the Minister of Culture.

Wednesday 19th February 2020, at 7pm. The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, Marylebone, London W1 U 5AS

An illustrated lecture by Professor Emerita Lydia Palaiokrassa-Kopitsa who has been systematically excavating the site of Palaiopolis, the ancient capital of the island of Andros, for 30 years, revealing its historical phases, monuments and important finds since the late 8th c.BC

An illustrated lecture by Konstantinos Boletis, Architect, Doctor of History and Archaeology,
Ephorate of the Antiquities of the City of Athens, entitled ‘The Choregic Monument of Thrasyllos on the southern Slope of the Athenian Acropolis’.

This is the story of an impressive 4 th c. B.C. Choregic monument, whose Stuart and Revett 18th century drawings inspired ‘Greek Revival’ buildings in Europe and North America, its conversion into the Middle Byzantine period church of ‘St Mary of the Cave’, its bombardment damage in 1827 and its recent full restoration in 2017 by the speaker.

An illustrated lecture by Emeritus Professor Stelios Andreou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, entitled:

"The late prehistoric polities of the Thermaic Gulf: Recent archaeological research at Thessaloniki toumba and the Anthemous valley”.
Thank you,

In this illustrated lecture Professor Cosmopoulos will present the exciting archaeological discoveries at Iklaina and discuss their significance for two interconnected issues: the historical aspects of the Homeric epics and the history of the Mycenaean states.

The recent archaeological expeditions (2009, 2011-15) conducted by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities at the wreck of the brig Mentor, which sank in 1802 off Kythera, have been focused mainly on excavating the section of the hull that is still well preserved, as well as collecting information about the passengers, the crew and the cargo of the ship. The brig, owned by Lord Elgin, was transporting some of the antiquities and sculptures taken from the Acropolis monuments, and sank off the small port of Avlemonas in September 1802. From the 19th to the 21st century, there have been several underwater investigations on the wreck undertaken with the aim to discover the “marble” sculptures, which, according to rumour, should still remain at the site.
The artefacts that have been discovered can be identified as objects for navigation, parts of the ship’s rigging and ornamentation, objects used for life on board, the ship’s armature, personal belongings of the passengers and crew and finally objects that possibly can be related to the shipload, such as ancient coins, Rhodian amphorae stamps, fossils, part of an Egyptian pharaonic statue and a fragmented Egyptian marble relief.

In the balmy Athenian evening of Friday 19th September 2014 in the garden of the British School at Athens, some 240 people gathered to say a big thank you to Matti Egon, Founder of GACUK, its Honorary Chairman and its major donor. The guests were welcomed at the gate by GACUK scholars, most meeting each other for the first time, and were offered a programme for the evening as well as a colourfully illustrated bilingual leaflet with a precis of GACUK’s aims and achievements. Ambassadors and other dignitaries and guests, glass of wine in hand, took their seats or stood in anticipation of the proceedings.

A warm welcome by Professor Catherine Morgan, Director of the BSA was followed by Dr Vasileios Petrakos, Secretary General of the Academy of Athens and of the Greek Archaeological Society at Athens with an elegant speech of well -turned phrases. He referred to Matti Egon’s and her family’s (the Xylas), long association with the Society, her very many benefactions to it but also to learned institutions in her native island of Chios and to her family’s long maritime tradition and contribution to it, an exemplary combination of philanthropy and patriotism. In this light, he singled out GACUK, Matti Egon’s creation, as the only such institution outside Greece; a very well received speech embellished with apt references and quotations.

Next, the Chair of GACUK, Dr Zetta Theodoropoulou Polychroniadis, spoke in her usual well -structured style, of her own deep appreciation of Matti’s devotion to GACUK and her generosity in granting scholarships to Greek and Cypriot-Greek talented graduates to help them undertake doctoral research in leading universities in the UK, 47 scholars in 28 years. The Chair also mentioned the 47 lectures on the most recent archaeological finds in Greece and Cyprus, given in London by Greek archaeologists hosted by Matti Egon. She referred to the remarkable professional success of GACUK’s scholars in Greece and elsewhere, in European and American institutions. She added that in gratitude to Matti, the GACUK scholars are preparing for her a volume of academic articles and the Chair ended by offering to Matti Egon a tastefully printed collection of abstracts from the forthcoming volume.

The first ever scholar of GACUK, Dr Olga Karagiorgou, Researcher at the Research Centre for Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art, Academy of Athens, stepped forward to deliver a brief but moving speech dwelling on the scholars’ gratitude to Matti Egon but also the moral support and inspiration she gave them ending, amid enthusiastic applause, by handing to her an enormous bouquet of a variety of flowers, which the scholars had been invited to associate symbolically with Matti Egon’s impression on them.

Dr Natasha Leriou, another early scholar, now at the Archaeological Society at Athens, announced the launch of the Greek Archaeological Committee UK Scholars Association and outlined its aims.
Instinctively, Matti Egon stood up and, quite moved, expressed her warm thanks to the BSA, the organisers of the event, the scholars and the numerous guests for the honour bestowed upon her.
Lively conversation, tasty food and welcone drinks were enjoyed, well into the night, by all in the well -lit garden, its tables groaning under large and colourful bunches of flowers. The collective response was that, that was an unforgettably splendid event.