This proved to be an exciting and full semester for me as one of the two
Elisabeth Alföldi-Rosenbaum Fellows at the CIG. Arriving on September 1
st,
I immediately set to the task of researching my project for this
semester – the ceramic burial vessels recovered from four trial trenches
on Corinth’s so-called Hill of Zeus, excavated by the American School
of Classical Studies in 1933. Learning how to deal with the material and
records associated with an 83-year old excavation proved to be a
challenging puzzle, but one that I took up with enthusiasm. The regional
sources of most of my pottery, the implications for the topography of
Late Roman Corinth, and the opportunity to apply some of my knowledge as
a (novice) studio ceramicist were all features of my lecture on
December 7. I was pleased to have so many attend and I enjoyed what was
truly a rewarding Q&A session!
My work on the Hill of Zeus pottery was punctuated with various other
projects and trips this semester. In late September I participated in
the 30th Congress of the Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores (RCRF) in
Lisbon, Portugal, where I presented a poster (which I’m also
transforming into an article). My focus was on the theme of ceramic
regionalism within the context of a globalized Roman world, using
material from my dissertation which was based on the Late Roman pottery
from the Panayia Field, Corinth. Lisbon is a beautiful city, and the
conference provided the opportunity to visit the Roman industrial site
of Troia where staggering amounts of fish products were processed and
shipped throughout the Empire in amphorae (which we were also given the
opportunity to handle!). My conference in Lisbon was followed by a brief
visit to Canada for a dear friend’s wedding – a whirlwind trip that was
well worth the jet lag! A trip to Rome for five days in late November
also allowed the opportunity to see some different sights, as well as
familiar faces.
One of the best parts about this semester was the opportunity to spend
time in Athens again, one of my favourite cities. It was nice to go back
and revisit the amazing sights and museums, as well as some of the
restaurants I fell in love with during my previous visits here. For me,
Greek food is comfort food, but when I’m in the mood to cook, the fresh
produce at the local
laiki never disappoints. My attempts to
minimize the massive amounts of spinach or potatoes that the vendors are
inclined to pack into your bag (one man can only eat so much in a
single week!) got increasingly better as I attempted to put to use the
skills I’ve been acquiring this semester in my Greek lessons.
Interesting lectures are also never difficult to find in Athens, and, of
course, there was always the opportunity to make new friends from the
various foreign schools while playing darts at the Red Lion every
Tuesday!
Living at the CIG and assisting with the preparations for lectures
gave me an inside look of the day-to-day operations of a foreign
institute in Athens, while my library skills were tested through the
accessioning of recent acquisitions in numerous different languages. I’m
pleased to say that our catalogue of used books for this January’s book
sale is ready to go, although I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be
here to bid on some of the treasures that are awaiting new owners.
Although I’ll be taking a position at Penn State this spring, you can be
sure that I will be catching the live-streaming of the exciting spring
lecture series that I know David and Jonathan have planned. Thank you
all!
Mark Hammond
Elisabeth Alföldi-Rosenbaum Fellow, CIG
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