The TETRARCHs project has been in northern Greece, at the site of Toumba Serron for the excavation’s second field season. Both the Toumba Serron Research Project and TETRARCHs featured on local TV, interviewed by Aphrodite Spyridon. Catch up on it here (video) and see the English summary of the news report below.
Toumba Serron: A unique and different project for archaeological research by scientists – Video
People featured in the video:
- AS: Aphrodite Spyridon (journalist, epiloges tv, interviewer, voiceover)
- JT: Dr. James Taylor (Lecturer, University of York, co-director of the Toumba Serron excavation)
- SP: Dr. Sara Perry (Associate Professor, UCL, Head of TETRARCHs)
- PS: Panayiotis Spyropoulos (Deputy Governor of Serres)
- DN: Dimitris Notas (Mayor of the Emm. Pappa Municipality)
- GV: Giorgos Vasileiou (President of the Serres Flight Club)
- ASG: Dr. Anna Simandiraki-Grimshaw (Research Fellow, UCL, TETRARCHs researcher, translating for James Taylor)
- DS: Dr. Despoina Sampatakou (Post-Doc researcher, University of York, TETRARCHs Visiting Scholar, translating for Sara Perry and James Taylor)
Summary
AS gave a general introduction to the “unique and different excavation in Toumba Serron of the Municipality of Emm. Pappa”, emphasising the fact that it is a new experimental approach during which finds are digitised into 3D models. She went on to introduce the Neolithic settlement, which dates back to around 5,000 BC, which was identified several decades ago and whose finds show a continuation of life in the same area. She explained that the research is part of a five-year project of the Ministry of Culture, which is being carried out as a collaboration between the Ephorate of Antiquities of Serres and the British School at Athens, led by the Director of the Ephorate, Dr. Dimitria Malamidou. She went on to say that scientific teams have been conducting systematic excavations since 2021 and that the excavation team consists of archaeologists from various universities. AS also focused on the visit, on Friday 12th July 2024, of the members of the Flight Club of Serres, who were accompanied by the Mayor of the Emm. Pappa Municipality, Dimitris Notas. All had the unique opportunity to take a tour of the site while the excavations are taking place.
Next came an interview by JT (translated by ASG), which gave more details about the site and the progress of the excavation. He explained that there was one week left of the excavations, as it was a short excavation season of two weeks this year, to explore some specific questions that the team need to address. He went on to say that e.g. some signs of burning need to be investigated through geophysical methods, and understood. He further explained that next summer the team will study the material that has come out from the last two or three excavation seasons, so that the team can evaluate exactly what kinds of finds have emerged. Answering a question from AS regarding whether current finds are encouraging, JT responded that there are a lot of ceramics and stone objects, which are to be expected from this kind of site, and which can tell us lots of information about the people of Toumba. At AS’s prompt regarding the significance and date of the site, JT responded that it is a site that belongs to the Late Neolithic period, and which dates to ca. 5000 BCE. It is a settlement which belonged to a network of numerous settlements, and which will help the team see, within this network, what life was like for these people in Neolithic times.
The President of the Flight Club of Serres, Giorgos Vasileiou, was interviewed next. He stated that he was impressed and expressed the Flight Club’s joy at being the first association of Serres to officially visit the archaeological research effort. He emphasised that this was an invitation that the Club could not have said no to, as they considered it an honour to be chosen from amongst many other associations. He relayed that they were pleasantly surprised that antiquities were found in that area and was thankful to the archaeologists for reaching out. He wished them to discover lots more finds and for the site to become a visiting place for Greeks and non Greeks alike, so that tourism and local heritage representation would be boosted.
DN was interviewed next. Apart from giving a summary of the site and its people (e.g. pre-metallurgical, exploiting the now defunct nearby lake, foraging and hunting, and so the area’s potential for the development of habitation), he emphasised the collaborative nature of the excavation, with its European Union backing and diverse university representation. He particularly thanked the Ephor, Dr. D. Malamidou: “besides her great endeavour to promote the Kasta Tumulus, she and her team have made time to look at more everyday things, which, nevertheless, are very important in understanding the development of humankind”.
It was TETRARCHs’ turn next. AS introduced this section by highlighting that the goal of the project is to find ways to make digitised material accessible to anyone who is interested. AS also mentioned that this is a unique and different excavation, as it has new experimental methods, during which the finds are digitised into 3D models. There followed statements by SP and JT, translated by DS. SP stated that the approach employed here is different for many reasons, one of them being the way we reach out to the public, and facilitate their ability to tell stories about the site and its finds. SP explained that the team’s several members come from many universities and include researchers, students and artists. JT added that the unique digital, experimental approach employed, of digitising everything in 3D, also aims to enable the reuse of archival archaeological data.
In the final part of the report, AS introduced a statement from PS, who had attended a briefing by ASG earlier on. He expressed his and his team’s interest about anything which happens in Serres and deemed the excavation a serious, worthwhile, positive endeavour that benefits the area. He reflected that the excavation members respect Greek culture and move archaeology forward, and so he promised his and his team’s support for the project. He concluded that “it’s a good and noteworthy excavation and I hope the finds will prove equally important.”
Blog by Sara Perry, summary by Anna Simandiraki-Grimshaw, with input from Sara Perry.