This course is taught on-site in Greece, and will be offered over the (Australian) summer.  Students will travel to a number of important archaeological sites in Greece, with a particular focus on the regional history of Attica and central Greece.  The course will examine the history of cities and settlement in the area over a long historical period, from the Bronze Age to the late Roman empire.  A number of major archaeological sites will be visited, including Athens, Sounion, Corinth, Mycenae, Tiryns, Epidauros, Pylos, Olympia, Delphoi, and Kalapodi.  A particular focus of the course will be a regional study of central Greece, the area between the Corinthian Gulf and the Spercheios valley (the ancient regions of Malis, Phokis, Lokris and Boiotia).

The course will consider topics such as: nature of and change in settlement patterns in the Bronze Age, Classical and Roman periods, with reference to security, communications, and agricultural potential; form and significance of major religious sanctuaries; and significance of sites from the  Greek Bronze Age, especially as locations of mythological and imagined histories.  The choice of areas to be studied will also allow comparison of different forms of political organization in the classical period: regions organized as a single polis (Attike), a collection of individual poleis (Boiotia, Argolid), and poleis organized as ethne (Phokis, areas in the Spercheios valley).


Students will come to a better understanding of issues such as:

• what were the factors governing the siting of a Greek polis, and what was the relationship between a city and its hinterland?
• in what ways did physical landscape govern agriculture, travel, warfare, and other key aspects of ancient life?
• what does the archaeology of urban sites and of sanctuaries tell us, and what does it leave us in the dark about?
• different forms of state formation and political structure in ancient Greece
• how are landscape and cultural memory related?

•    preliminary paper on topic of final research paper (submitted before departure) (1,500 words): 10%

•    two on-site presentations in Greece, discussing significant aspects of individual sites, with PowerPoints and/or written handouts (15% each): 30%

•    group presentation on return from Greece, addressing themes and issues from course: 10%

•    research paper (4,000 words): 35%

•    course diary, plus overall course participation: 15%

3 weeks' intensive study in Greece

Approx. 140 hours' work before and after fieldwork in Greece (November, December, February)

Prerequisite: Arts courses to the value of 12 units

Students who have not studied  Greek history will need to undertake extra preliminary reading.

Recommended courses: ANCH1013, ANCH1014

Selected articles and book chapters will be provided, relating to key issues and individual sites.

No special requirements, apart from good walking boots.