EXCAVATION

One universal desire among researchers is for more archaeological excavations and, just as importantly, for those excavations to be published in a timely manner. Every few years, the Greek Department of Antiquities suggests that Greek archaeologists should not be allowed to start new excavations until their old ones are published. Unfortunately, such policy never seems to materialize, and excavated sites remain unknown and inaccessible to all but the excavator him-self/herself and those students working on the site. To give one example, the sanctuary of Apollo at Thermon was excavated decades ago but has yet to be appropriately published. The many excellent finds from the site are on display at the on-site museum, carefully watched over by guards who allow no photographs to be taken and no drawings to be made of the items.

More scientific analysis is also needed in the field of archaeology, especially for neutron and chemical analyses (see chapter 3). The work now taking place at such institutions as MASCA (Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology) at the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania can provide information, such as where pottery was made (through chemical analysis of the clays used in production) and what organic materials were contained in such vessels. To give an example, Patrick McGovern of MASCA, working with archaeologists excavating the Phrygian site of Gordion, famed capital of King Midas of the Golden Touch, analyzed the funerary banquet that sent the king off to his afterlife. It turned out that the liquid used in the libations consisted of honey, barley, and grapes—mead, beer, and wine, not far off from the potion described in the Homeric epics (McGovern et al. 1999, passim). Thus, archaeology shows the reality behind the Homeric "myths." (As an interesting aside, ancient beer contained no hops; these were a Medieval German addition. Therefore, ancient beer was sweet, not contrasting in flavor with the wine and mead.)