Professor Irene Lemos

My research area is the archaeology of Early Greece from the ‘collapse’ of the Mycenaean culture to the Persian wars (from around 1200-480 BC). Excavating at the site of Lefkandi on the Greek island of Euboea has provided the opportunity to focus on the material culture of the island especially during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. Lefkandi was an important hub in the exchange patterns of the period and thus I am interested in exploring interconnections with other communities within the Greek and the wider Mediterranean world and investigating the mechanisms of such activities. I am also interested in the introduction of alphabetic writing and new technologies such as iron that emerge during this particular period. My research mainly involves the excavations and the publications of the discoveries made at Lefkandi, which I have been directed since 2003 (the excavation at Lefkandi - Xeropolis, Euboea). I have recently been involved with Professor Athéna Tsingarida (Brussels) in the study of collective ritual activities in the archaeological record thanks to a grant awarded by the Wiener-Anspach Foundation in Brussels (http://www.classics.ox.ac.uk/collectiverituals.html.