Welcome, Eric and Aiko!

The new academic year has begun at the Institute, and we welcome the Institute’s 2025-2026 Neda and Franz Leipen Fellow, Eric Del Fabbro, and Concordia University intern, Aiko Byrne. 

Eric Del Fabbro is a PhD candidate in the Department of Greek and Roman Studies at McMaster University. He is a writing a thesis entitled “Settlement dynamics in the ancient chora of Metaponto: An archaeological investigation into the social, political, and economic history of the countryside.” under the supervision of Dr. Spencer Pope.

The countryside around the ancient polis of Metaponto in southern Italy has been the subject of an intensive field survey aimed at understanding patterns of rural settlement from prehistory to the early modern period. Eric’s project uses the ceramic artifacts collected from the survey to identify the chronology and function of the rural sites. The countryside was occupied by a dense network of farmsteads, necropoleis, and sanctuaries from the Archaic to Hellenistic period. His research seeks to understand how changes in rural settlement over time were connected to broader political and social developments that affected the whole polis. It also investigates questions related to the production and exchange of pottery in the chora.

Thanks to the Neda and Franz Leipen Fellowship, Eric hopes to complete the writing of his dissertation and do supplementary research on Greek Hellenistic pottery. During his nine-month stay in Greece, he will not only have access to a wide array of publications at the Canadian Institute in Greece and other foreign institutes, but he will also be able to study ceramic artifacts in the storerooms of the Athenian Agora and other major collections.

Aiko Byrne has recently completed her BA in Honours Classics: Ancient History and Archaeology at Concordia University in Montreal. She is especially interested in Late Bronze Age urbanism, household archaeology, and the use of digital methods in archaeological research.

Through her internship, Aiko hopes to deepen her understanding of cultural heritage work abroad while supporting meaningful partnerships between Canadian and Greek researchers and institutions.

Jonathan Tomlinson
Assistant Director