Tree-ring dating, matching the patterns of annual increments in wood excavated from archaeological sites with those of living trees, has been a part of Cornell's research program since 1976. Annual field trips to Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, Lebanon, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and the Republic of Georgia have yielded about thirty thousand specimens, some as old as ca. 7000 B.C. This information is also being used to reconstruct the climate of the last several thousand years. The project, directed by Peter Ian Kuniholm, is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Malcolm H. Wiener Foundation, and gifts from individual donors.
Cornell Halai and East Lokris Project (CHELP)
CHELP is an ongoing survey and excavation in East Lokris, Greece, under the direction of John E. Coleman. Excavations at Halai, a seaside town on the eastern side of the Bay of Atalante, began in the summer of 1990. In the Greek period (about 600-31 B.C.), it was a fortified acropolis with a temple and civic buildings, and it continued to be occupied in the Roman and Byzantine periods. Neolithic levels beneath the classical ones are producing evidence for the history and economy of the first settled inhabitants of Greece. Fishing and trade were major activities of the ancient inhabitants. The survey area is unusually rich in antiquities. A large site dating to the Bronze Age (about 3700-1100 B.C.), now located on a tidal island, is of special interest. The project serves as a field training school for undergraduates and provides graduate students with opportunities for specialist training in archaeological techniques and research.
In cooperation with the Packard Humanities Institute, the department has undertaken a major project to convert published texts of Greek inscriptions to electronic form. The aim of the project for the Computerization of Greek Inscriptions is to allow scholars throughout the world to study these documents more thoroughly. The project is under the direction of Nancy Kelly and John Mansfield; Kevin Clinton is the administrative supervisor. Graduate students are welcome to participate.
For many years Cornell has collaborated with Harvard in a joint expedition to Sardis, capital of ancient Lydia. The project began in 1958 and is still continuing. Andrew Ramage, Department of History of Art and Archaeology, is Associate Director of Stage II. Significant discoveries in-clude: a decorative court of a large Roman gymnasium (211 A.D.); an enormous synagogue, de-stroyed in the 7th century A.D., but probably founded in the 3rd century A.D.; an early Christian basilican church; a Lydian gold refinery of the time of Croesus (6th century B.C.); Early Bronze Age settlements along a nearby lake and definite Late Bronze age connections with the Mycenaean Greeks.