The Archaeology of Late Bronze Age Interaction and Mobility at the Gates of Europe
New book out soon! Here you can download the appendixes:
Heritage of Displacement in Leros
Project on the archaeology and cultural heritage of displacement on the Island of Leros on the Dodecannese, conducted in collaboration with Eleni Stefanou (Hellenic Open University) and funded by the McDOnald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. You can learn more about this at the project website
CHODIA (Cultural Heritage of Dictatorship in Albania)
Project on the recent cultural heritage of Albania, funded by Horizon 2020 and hosted by the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. You can learn more about this at the project website
E djeshmja në shërbim të së tashmes – Valorizimi i trashëgimisë materiale të diktaturës në Shqipëri
(The Past at the service of the present – Valorisation of the material heritage of dictatorship in Albania)
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| Piramida ('the Pyramid') the most iconic monument of the dictatorship period in Albania |
In Albania as in many other ex-eastern block countries, underlying historical contingencies and unresolved conflict have led to the relative neglecting of a rich cultural resource. This is represented by the copious physical remains of the most recent past, dating to the communist dictatorship period. The aim of my recently concluded project (in collaboration with K. Këlliçi from the University of Tirana, and funded by the Albanian Ministry of Culture) has been a preliminary census and analysis of the monumental heritage of the dictatorship period in three Albanian urban areas.
Roca
Much of my activity in recent years has been focused on the study of the rich archaeological record of the site of Roca, in Adriatic Southern Italy. There is a brand new website where you can find further details on the long lasting researches conducted here by a team from the University of Salento directed by Riccardo Guglielmino. I am the Assistant Director of a project funded by the Institute of Aegean Prehistory and aimed at the study of the Aegean-type material assemblage from one of the best explored areas of the settlement. Together with Riccardo Guglielmino and Cosimo Pagliara, I am also the co-editor of the book that is being produced as a result of this project.
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| Photo courtesy of the Laboratory of Science Applied to Archaeology, University of Salento |
Handmade Burnished Ware & Westernizing Aegean
A few years ago I have tried to analyse in some details an interesting phenomenon occurring towards the end of the Bronze Age in the Aegean. For the first time since the times of the 'Cetina' culture (Copper Age/ Early Bronze Age), it is possible to clearly distinguish a limited but nevertheless evident trend of transmission of cultural traits (i.e. trade of objects, local imitations of specific types and individual stylistic features) which does not follow the usual south-east/north-west drift (from the 'developed' Near East and Levantine area to the 'underdeveloped' Europe) but actually goes the other way round. I have tried to highlight the possible macro-dynamics underpinning this pattern recognisable in the archaeological record of the Late Palatial and Early Post Palatial times. If you are interested in the topic drop me a line and I will send you the paper.
