Another Day at the Apotheke

Time to bring out the life size terracottas! This is one of the pieces included in the fall exhibition at Princeton this year.

This is Why I Do What I Do - Warning...Bragging Ahead

Every day I go to work, I am reminded repeatedly of how lucky I am to be physically interacting with Princeton's collection. Although all of their complete, phenomenal pieces are on display in museums across Cyprus, there are still plenty of things for me to become acquainted with....I am a kid in a candy shop.

Pics of the Week!

The Hulk Lives!!!!!!!!

Horses, horses, horses, horses

In honor of my sister going to nationals for equestrian jumping this weekend I thought it would be apropriate to post one of the responsibilities I have working with Princeton's terracotta collection. In preparing the objects for database entry, mold classification and possible publication or exhibition use, the figures need to be photographed. One of my jobs involves photoshoping the images in order for them to accurately represent the next best thing to the original terracotta. At one of the excavation sites, Princeton archaeologists found over 150 fragments of horse figures/figurines!

Good luck in Fort Worth Rachel! May this beautifully molded horse head be a talisman in helping you win!!!

Bioarchaeology and Osteology in Polis

Just a quick note about what my roommate is currently researching in Princeton University's Cyprus collection! Part of the excavation included a medieval church with Christian tombs. Among the burials, Katelyn Bolhofner and Brenda Baker discovered the remains of what appears to be a leper - the first to be found on the island of Cyprus. The skeletal collection is immense, giving an additional perspective of the site and those who occupied it during the Byzantine era.

   

My Job in Cyprus

Although I will be posting a lot of travel pictures, let us not forget my real reason in coming to Cyprus. Working directly with Princeton University's Polis Chrysochus directors, the majority of my time is spent managing their stone and terracotta collections.

With close to thirty years of excavation, the number of objects found at the site demand immediate attention for recording, housing, cataloging and photographing.

Princeton University's Polis Chrysochous Excavations

For almost thirty years, Princeton University's Department of Art and Archaeology has been excavating and analyzing Archaic and Classical finds in the area of Polis Chrysochous (Polis, Cyprus). The ancient cities of Marion and Arsinoe are included in the area, dating back to the 8th century B.C. and currently overlapped by the Polis village.

The archaeological finds of the area are staggering - producing thousands and thousands of objects from a variety of materials and time periods; including stone and terracotta sculpture, Roman pottery and Byzantine architecture. Offering a considerable range of objects, along with their connections to different social structures, cultural practices and reigning empires, Polis Chrysochous is not only an archaeologist's dream, but a vital key to the better understanding of the ancient Mediterranean world.



(The first photograph is of one of the northern-most sites, yielding some of the most beautiful finds of the expedition. The second photograph is of the storehouse)