Archaeology Magazine - May/June 2013 - 6

from the president

Fostering the Future

R

eaders of archaeology, captivated by the narratives woven by its skilled writers,

may not be aware of the long slog that often lies behind an archaeological project.
While occasionally important archaeological discoveries are made accidentally—
say, in the course of construction or after a torrential rainfall or severe drought—finds
made in the course of painstaking, multiyear excavation campaigns are more the norm.
The “big dig,” involving scores of participants over multiple years, is increasingly rare. And
fielding a team of excavators to explore even a limited area for just a few seasons is a costly
enterprise. Expenses can cover the gamut from airfare to food and housing for the diggers;
from supplying computers, cameras, and equipment for measuring, surveying, and drafting
to providing trucks or other local transport, including fuel; from conservation to storage
of any finds. The budget for a single six-week
excavation season can easily mount into six figures.
Many excavations are conducted under the
auspices of a university, typically where the excavation
director teaches. Such arrangements benefit the
students, who as undergraduates may participate as
part of a field school. Or as candidates for advanced
degrees, they may write a doctoral dissertation on the
recently excavated material. Even a rich university
with a hefty endowment, however, cannot necessarily
afford the costs of an excavation season, so field directors typically cobble together funding
from a variety of private and public sources: individual donors, foundations, and government
agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In view of the few funding sources—not to mention the stiff competition to acquire
them—the Archaeological Institute of America was fortunate last year to receive a gift that
will provide start-up funds to new excavation projects. Earmarked both for archaeologists
directing their first field project and those launching a new project at mid-career, the
AIA’s Cotsen Excavation Fund will support two projects per year. In its inaugural year, the
program attracted 42 applications—worthy projects from AIA members working around
the globe. Applicants had digs in 14 different countries, including the United States, and
across the chronological spectrum, from Paleolithic to Byzantine to nineteenth century.
From a terrific pool, we selected Justin Leidwanger of the University of Toronto to
investigate, as a first-time director, a Byzantine shipwreck in the waters of Marzamemi off
the coast of Sicily. And Thomas Strasser of Providence College, a veteran archaeologist
with 30 years of prior fieldwork, was chosen to excavate the Mesolithic site of Damnoni in
southwest Crete. Prior to Damnoni’s discovery by surface reconnaissance, no archaeological
remains so early in date had been discovered on Crete.
These two worthy recipients, along with a distinguished field of other applicants,
demonstrate that the AIA is on the right track in supporting projects that represent the
“next wave.” These projects will nurture junior archaeologists, support veteran excavators,
and result in significant finds that transform our understanding of the human past.

Archaeological
Institute of America
Located at Boston University

officers
President

Elizabeth Bartman
First Vice President

Andrew Moore
Vice President for outreach and education

Pamela Russell
Vice President for research and Academic Affairs

Carla Antonaccio
Vice President for Professional responsibilities

Laetitia LaFollette
Treasurer

David Ackert
Vice President for Societies

Thomas Morton
chief executive officer

Peter Herdrich
chief operating officer

Kevin Quinlan

governing board
Susan Alcock
Carla Antonaccio
Cathleen Asch
Barbara Barletta
David Boochever
Derek Counts
Julie Herzig Desnick
Michael Galaty
Greg Goggin
Ronald Greenberg
Michael Hoff
Jeffrey Lamia
Becky Lao
Lynne Lancaster
Deborah Lehr
Robert Littman
Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis
Shilpi Mehta
Naomi Norman, ex officio
Maria Papaioannou
Eleanor Powers
Paul Rissman
Robert Rothberg
David Seigle
Chen Shen
Charles Steinmetz
Douglas Tilden
Claudia Valentino, ex officio
Shelley Wachsmann
Ashley White
Past President

C. Brian Rose
Trustees emeriti

Norma Kershaw
Charles S. LaFollette
legal counsel

Mitchell Eitel, Esq.
Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP

Elizabeth Bartman
President, Archaeological Institute of America

6

Archaeological Institute of America
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www.archaeological.org

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Archaeology Magazine - May/June 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - May/June 2013
