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An imposing figure on her staircase in the Louvre, the Winged Victory (Nike) is one of the most famous statues to come to us from the Hellenistic world.  Charles Champoiseau discovered her 150 years ago, and as was the custom of the time, she was taken to the French capital to grace that city. The…

Although the main focus of this season is the famous Nike statue and the precinct of the Sanctuary where she once resided, we are also simultaneous completing the study of other parts of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. One such project is the reconstruction of the so-called Milesian Dedication, a dining hall dedicated by…

One of the biggest enigmas surrounding the famous Winged Victory of Samothrace is where she was located.  Her precinct – the original area where she was located – is perched on a high terrace at the extreme southern point of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods.  This position gave her a commanding presence, looking down…

According to Wikipedia, Yahoo, and numerous other (questionable) internet sources, July 26th in America is “All or Nothing Day,” a day in which extremes and going-for-broke are condoned as well as celebrated. Here in Greece, however, we celebrated the name day Parakseuis, which means “Friday” in Greek. Each day in the calendar is associated with a name, and certain important…

This is the photo guide to our “Wall Walk”. Here are a few pictures of our walk along the ancient city wall. Follow the wall with us.

Imagine that you are standing outside and someone hands you a broom and tells you to sweep. How do you know when you’re done? During our first week on the island, Bonna, Jess, Abi, Alison, and Vikki spent a morning cleaning the Nike Precinct to prepare the area for a gigapan photograph. Gigapan is a…

Kalimera (Good day) from Samothrace! I’m Desi Peters, one of the four conservators on staff along with Kari Rayner and Samantha Owens, under the supervision of Steve Koob. We’re halfway into the 2012 season with only three weeks left! First, let me introduce myself. I am a graduate student at New York University’s Institute of…

This is the middle of the second week of the excavation. Right now we are at the peak prevalence of people associated with the excavation team: the former site director, Mr. McCredie, and his wife, the current site director, Bonna Wescoat, and her daughter, the glass conservator (Steve Koob), 2 Harvard-associated architects, 2 NYU and 1…

You all know that when someone is praised as a “colossus” in their field, it means that he or she towers over others in stature, ability, reputation, and achievement.  It is a good thing.  It comes from one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a gigantic bronze statue of Helios erected at the…

When I was a child, one of my favorite vacation activities was visiting Roman ruins.  When touring an archaeological site, I wondered about the people who, in ancient times, had lived in the homes and prayed in the temples.  I also wondered about the people who uncovered and interpreted the ruins millennia later: the archaeologists.…