INTERNATIONAL FIELD STUDY in GREECE:

CRETE and the CYCLADIC ISLANDS

Anne CHAPIN, Jim REYNOLDS and Robert BAUSLAUGH

Brevard CollegeBrevard, NC 28712

BREVARD COLLEGEGEOL 270 Field Study in Geology:

Geology and Archaeology of the Mediterranean Basin

• Field experience in Geology and Archaeology

• Geology in a human, historical context

• International experience

• Interdisciplinary experience

• Presentation opportunity

• Web Page development

Challenges Developing International Field Programs at a Small School

• Small student body (600 Students) • Limited tradition of Field Courses and International Courses in most disciplines

• No majors offered in Geology or Archaeology

• No institutional funding• Limited time for an extended field trip

during a semester-long course

Problem:

Small student body (600 Students)

Solutions

• Make it interdisciplinary– Fulfills Lab Science Core Requirement (Reynolds)– Cross-listed with Art History 290 to fulfill Fine Arts Core Requirement

(Chapin)– Will cross-list with History to fulfill Social Sciences Core Requirement

(Bauslaugh)

• Repeatable: – Students may only fulfill one requirement per year but may take the

course multiple times if different venues are offered.

• Travel Option: – Offer supplemental 2-credit course (GEOL 271) for students who just

want to participate on the field trip.

•

•

Course Objectives

• Introduce students to exemplary field sites

• Provide students with an international experience

• Introduce students to field research

• Provide fora for classroom and internet presentation

• Demonstrate the relationship between Earth Science and cultural development in antiquity using multiple examples

Based on: http:/www.directionsmag.com/images/newsletter/2003/02_26/greece_Turkey.jpg

Days 1-2: Geology and Archaeology of Athens

Group photo on the Hill of the Muses, Athens

Athens

• Visit the Acropolis and Agora

• Introduction to the classical monuments

• Introduction to the geological setting of Athens and its monuments

• Discuss marble – sources & qualities

• Air pollution and destruction to monuments

• History of excavation• Overnight ferry to Crete

Days 3-9:

Crete A land shaped by plate tectonics

Hike the Samaria Gorge

• Overview of carbonate geology and compressional tectonics

• Discussions of natural disasters affecting villages in the gorge

– Earthquakes

– Landslides

– Floods

– Mud/Debris flows

Archaeology and Geology of Minoan Crete

• Visit Minoan palaces at Phaistos and Knossos

• Visit Minoan villas and towns at Ayia Triada, Mochlos, Palaikastro, and Gournia

• Right: Measuring alignments at Ayia Triada

CreteKnossos, Palaikastro, Mochlos

Geology and Prehistoric Cult:The Skoteino and Diktaean Caves

• Discussion of cave formation and karst topography

• Discussion of the importance of caves in Minoan religious practice of the Aegean Bronze Age

Days 10-13: Volcanism on Santorini

• Morning visit to Nea Kameni– The Minoan eruption from the caldera

center– Resurgence in the post-eruption phase

• Lunch on Thirasia on the far side of the caldera

Days 13-14: The marbles of Naxos

• Morning visit to harborside ruins• Afternoon tour of the island

– Visited two ancient quarries, each containing a broken kouros

Days 15-16: Final Intersections

Delos and Return to Athens

• Morning visit to the Sanctuary of Apollo, Delos• Afternoon ferry to Athens•

2005 Salt Lake City Annual Meeting (October 16–19, 2005)

Paper No. 80-4Presentation Time: 8:45 AM-9:00 AM

INTERNATIONAL FIELD STUDY IN CRETE AND THE CYCLADIC ISLANDSCHAPIN, Anne P., Fine Arts, Brevard College, 400 N. Broad St, Brevard, NC 28712, chapin@brevard.edu, REYNOLDS, James H. III, Division of Environmental Studies, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences, Brevard College, 400 N Broad St, Brevard, NC 28712-3498, and BAUSLAUGH, Robert A., Social Sciences, Brevard College, 400 N. Broad St, Brevard, NC 28712

Brevard College's GEOL 270 takes an interdisciplinary approach to exposing students to field study. The course is titled Field Study in Geology: and varies in subtitle. In 2005 the subtitle was Geology and Archaeology of the Mediterranean Basin. Team taught by a geologist and two classical archaeologists, students receive lab science credit toward fulfillment of the Core Curriculum. During the semester, class meets for one 2-hour session each week. Students present research on ancient Mediterranean cultures and their interactions with the geological environment. At semester's end, the class goes on a 2-3 week field trip to visit sites of one of the cultures. After the trip, students prepare web pages about their experiences. Students receive an incomplete in the course until the web page is completed.

Course Enrollment varies between 15-20 students, ~3% of Brevard's student body. Students arrange their own flights with variable return dates. Field trip hotels and travel are arranged through in-country travel agents. Daily food allowances cover student meals. Faculty expenses and stipends are included in the program fee.

The 2005 trip went to Athens and the Greek islands of Crete, Santorini, Naxos, Mykonos, and Delos. A highlight of Crete was a hike through the Samaria Gorge, a 2.6 km descent from mountaintop to seashore over a 17 km distance. Visits to the Skoteino Cave and Diktean Cave, the birthplace of Zeus, integrated Greek mythology and religion with the local geological environment. Our time on Santorini included visits to Akrotiri, the “Greek Pompeii” and to other islands in the group. On Naxos, visits were made to two ancient quarries from which the largest known marble statues were extracted. From Mykonos, the group visited the sacked Sanctuary of Apollo on Delos. Field topics included types of ancient building stone, Aegean tectonics, karst geology, Minoan archaeology, paleoseismology, Theran volcanism and tsunamis, and sources of obsidian and Bronze Age metals.

The Greek trip undertook new research with student participation. Attempts were made to establish paleoseismic vectors from earthquake field evidence found at Minoan sites. We also measured the orientation of major walls for possible archeoastronomic significance. Surprising outcomes in these endeavors instigated numerous student discussions.