Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies – Thera Frescoes 2010

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Thera Frescoes 2010

The Griphos Project

July 6-10, 2010

2nd Summer Seminar at the Archaeological Site of Akrotiri

The archaeological site of Akrotiri on the island of Thera (modern-day Santorini) has proven a treasure trove of information about the Aegean Bronze Age civilisation. Among its most valued artifacts are wall paintings (frescoes), which have been preserved in the volcanic ash since the seventeenth century BCE. The frescoes are typically recovered in fragments of a few centimetres to a few tens of centimetres in length, and reconstructing complete wall sections from the fragments occupies a major portion of the effort at Akrotiri.

In an ongoing collaboration, researchers from Princeton University, University College London and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, together with archaeologists from the Akrotiri Excavation and University of Ioannina, are developing computer hardware, software and procedures that aim at supporting conservators in their task of assembling the fragmented wall paintings. In the context of this project (the "Griphos Project"), many interesting research questions arise around the challenge of addressing the complex needs of conservators and archaeologists with computer technology.

In the tradition of a successful summer seminar in 2009, the Griphos team invites researchers and selected students to a second summer seminar to gather at Akrotiri and to discuss the problem domain of wall painting reconstruction and computer-aided approaches on site. The seminar will feature presentations by archaeologists and computer scientists that are working on aspects related to the Griphos project, and the goal is to stimulate fruitful discussions involving both the humanities and engineering sciences, providing insight into both disciplines and intensifying cross-disciplinary ties.

WORKSHOP FACULTY:
Tony Constantinides, Electrical Engineering, Imperial College and University College London
David Dobkin, Computer Science, Princeton University
Christos Doumas, Director, Akrotiri Excavation, Thera; University of Athens
Thomas Funkhouser, Computer Science, Princeton University
Dimitri Gondicas, Hellenic Studies, Princeton University
Petros Maragos, Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens
Szymon Rusinkiewicz, Computer Science, Princeton University
Andreas Vlachopoulos, Akrotiri Excavation, Thera; University of Ioannina
Tim Weyrich, Computer Science, University College London

STUDENT PARTICIPANTS:
Antonio García Castañeda, Ph.D., Computer Science, University College London
Fragoula Georma, Ph.D., Art and Archaeology, University of Ioannina - Akrotiri Excavation

Dimitra Karmiri, B.A., Art and Archaeology, University of Athens
Kyriakos Lampropoulos, Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens
Aliki Metallinou, B.A., Art and Archaeology, University of Thessaloniki
Vassilios A. Oikonomou, M.S., Archaeological Computing, University of Southampton
Angelos Papadopoulos, Ph.D., Archaeology, University of Liverpool

Hijung (Valentina) Shin, Undergraduate, Computer Science, Princeton University
Maria Taxiarchi, Art and Archaeology student, University of Ioannina

Corey Toler-Franklin, Ph.D., Computer Science, Princeton University

Sophia Vakirtzi, M.A., Art and Archaeology, University of Athens, Akrotiri Excavation

Johnny Weiss, Undergraduate, Computer Science, Princeton University
Lefters Zorzos, M.A., Art and Archaeology, University College London