January 29

Today we left the hotel at 8:30 and had a very full day. We drove about an hour and 15 minutes to a site at Lefkandi. This one is interesting both for its historical significance and what has happened to it in the last 30 years. So there is not much known for sure about this place, except that certain things happened here: a couple was buried (the man by cremation and the woman by inhumation), their burial site was 2 and a half meters below the floor level of an unfinished structure, it was torn down, at some point something burned, a huge burial mound was erected on top, and other people are buried nearby. All this was discovered in a construction site in 1980. So the question is, why was this structure put up over the burial site? Why wasn’t it finished? Why was it torn down? What function would it have served (it has some features that would lend itself to being a home – but there were no signs of its having been lived in). And this tomb – it dates back to 1000 BCE, a time when these kind of structures were not built and wouldn’t be so for another couple hundred years. So there are just a lot of questions left unanswered about this place, but the modern side is also puzzling.
In Greece, before any construction project, the site has to be analyzed by the ministry of culture to make sure there aren’t any finds a few meters deep. Here, a man went through the standard process, but they found this incredible site just a few meters into this mound. I’m not sure about the details, but in the meantime (a couple of years have passed), the man who owned the property is getting furious and decides to bulldoze the area, knocking down the stone walls of the tumulus. I hope I have provided enough info to prove how important and incredible this find was and now there are only sections of the walls left in this 50 m long tomb.
I’m just trying to figure out why he would go to such extremes? He must have been meeting dead ends at every corner and frustrated with the government’s response to his concerns. I wonder if he had a full appreciation for the site, or if all he could focus on was the money he was losing. I know, after talking with our archaeological guide today, that there is compensation offered to the owners of these sites, and that, if the site is important enough, there is not much anyone can do to keep the property. It’s like when the US government wants to construct a highway and needs to pass through a certain area with home. I’m pretty sure all the homeowners can do is accept the compensation and move. They at least have some sentimental hold on their homes, so I can understand if they tried to resist, but this man was already planning a demo project. I seems that he was just frustrated by the money we has losing. I know I am not in a financially independent place in my life right now, so I may not have a clear perspective on the issue, but the site at Lefkandi is so interesting and complex. I can’t believe he would be so bold and rash to just go and bulldoze the area.
So that was just the first bit to our day. We drove another 15 minutes to the ancient city of Eretria. Here, we were met by, Sylvian, a Swiss archaeologist and assistant director of the excavation project that remains here year round. He spoke to us about the main items in the museum, showed us around the “House of Mosaics,” named because of the pebble mosaics which covered the floors, showed us around the excavated sections of the ancient city of Eretria and took us up the hill to the acropolis to show us the massive fortification wall the surrounded the city. It was a very busy day. Everything was so interesting. I think this is definitely one of the best sites we have visited, and Sylvian knew his stuff! It’s so cool to be reading ancient sources like Herodotus’ The Histories, which date back to 425 BCE, and see the cities he mentions that fought in these battles. And then going and seeing these massive fortifications (the one at Eretria was 40 km long) and composed of these huge stone blocks. Just thinking about the fear that these people must have lived in on order to necessitate such a project (it took 10 years to finish). It’s fascinating to see it all up close, personally climbing the hill and imagining the construction of such a wall.
By now it is 2:30 in the afternoon and the not so good (but free) breakfast has long since been digested. Krentz talks Sylvian into having lunch with us (if you can still call it lunch, it has gotten so late) and we go to a great little restaurant where no one speaks any English. Sylvian (having grown up in Switzerland) speaks English, Italian, French, and Greek, so we were just fine. He is a really interesting guy and made us all want to apply for an excavation project.
We finally got back to the hotel around 5. The main roads are still blocked by the orange famers. I’ve just been researching what Allie and I are going to do come spring break and trying to finish my homework. Apparently, I have outgrown my motion sickness and I can get a lot read on the bus now. That will definitely help me stay on top of my work. I’ve felt like I’ve been wasting so much time just sitting on the bus listening to my ipod.
Tomorrow is also a busy day. We end up in Delphi, so if anyone has any pressing questions, I’ll see what I can do.