An international team of researchers, including Dr Michael Loy from our Department of Classics and Ancient History, has uncovered hidden clues about life in the hills of ancient southwest Samos, Greece.
Researchers from the West Area of Samos Archaeological Project (WASAP) have used intensive pedestrian and digitally enhanced research methods to collect over 1,300 ceramic fragments from the island of Samos for detailed analysis.
The team mapped the location of archaeological finds spread across the island’s surface, many of which were pieces of broken pottery turned up in plough-soil or eroding out of terraces.
This work led to the identification of 15 “Areas of Interest” in the pre-modern landscape.
These are concentrated pockets of ancient activity spanning periods from the Archaic through Byzantine periods, c.7th century BCE–15th century CE.
The ceramics suggest pre-modern Samos had a largely inward-facing economy, dominated by locally produced wares, with only minimal evidence of long-distance imports.
While Samos was historically seen as a hub of maritime trade, this survey indicates that daily life in its southwestern rural zones was far more self-sufficient than previously thought.
The results also highlight shifting dynamics in island settlement structures - where a small seasonal port-side complex grew into a larger settlement over the generations.
The research deepens understanding of ancient Samos by highlighting how its rural communities functioned alongside maritime centres, revealing a complex but regionally rooted network.
This project also incorporated a range of digital humanities research methods - including born-digital data collection in the field, GIS mapping, and computational route modelling - using new technologies to revolutionise our interpretation of ancient economies and everyday lives.
The research was led by Dr Anastasia Christophilopoulou (Boston MFA), Dr Michael Loy (Durham University), Professor Naoíse Mac Sweeney (University of Vienna) and Dr Jana Mokrišová (Brown University), involving specialist ceramics study by Dr Sabine Huy (University of Münster). The primary publications of the project results are available in the Annual of the British School at Athens and the Journal of Open Archaeology Data.
The project has received funding from University of Vienna (primary funder); the University of Cambridge (Faculty of Classics and the McDonald Institute for Archaeology); the British School at Athens; the British Academy; the Leverhulme Trust; Queens’ College Cambridge; the A.G. Leventis Foundation; the Rust Family Foundation; and the Mediterranean Archaeological Trust. Fieldwork for this project was conducted 2021–2024, with a permit sponsored by British School at Athens and granted by Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The Ephorate of Antiquities of Samos and Ikaria is directed by the Acting Ephor Dr Pavlos Triantafylidis.
Read the related research papers: The landscape and networks of south-west Samos: Evidence from surface-survey ceramics, published by the Annual of the British School at Athens, and Landscapes of (dis)connection: Modelling connectivity in west Samos with least cost path analysis, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
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