04-15/06/2016 - 4th Summer School on Ancient Technology (Thessaloniki)

Progress and innovation in technology were of exceptional importance for the development of ancient societies and have been of great interest to many disciplines. This year, the International Hellenic University Summer School is focusing on Ancient Technology and Ancient Economies, offering the opportunity to study how technological achievements of ancient cultures could regulate and promote commercial activities; subjects such as how the diffusion of improved infrastructural, organizational and mechanical technologies facilitated the production and distribution of agricultural and industrial goods, or how the transfer of technology provided enough motivation and a good impetus for ancient societies to reach high levels of economic progress and prosperity, will be discussed.

In the course of the programme, the latest historical research along with state-of-the-art scientific techniques applied to the analysis of archaeological findings will be presented by senior academics and field archaeologists who are experts in their research areas.

INVENTIONS AND INNOVATIONS:
- Faience and glass: the first ‘high tech’ products
- The invention and the necessity of metric systems
- The invention and early diffusion of coinage
- The innovation of ashlar masonry in building technology
- The role of timber in building technology.

PRODUCTS MANAGEMENT AND TRANSFER:
- Early capital investments in land transport and cargoes
- The network of Inscribed stirrup jars and the craftsmen in first Greek texts
- Luxury items and their circulation: toreutics
- Luxury items and their circulation: ceramics
- The Antikythera Shipwreck: Freight, Trade and Economy during the Hellenistic Era
- Harbors and Harbor cities in antiquity.

MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND ANCIENT ECONOMIES:
- Investigation of alloys in metal equipment of ancient societies
- Restoration principles of ancient buildings
- Geophysical methods in the detection of buried antiquities
- Modern technology in documenting and exhibiting antiquity.

Application Procedure:
The Summer School on Ancient Technology and Ancient Economies welcomes applicants from a wide range of educational backgrounds. Participants can be undergraduate students and graduates of related disciplines (Archaeology, Architecture, Museology, Conservation
Studies, History, Tourism, Political Science, Engineering, Economics etc.). Applications from other professionals with an interest in archaeology and ancient technology will also be taken into consideration.

More information please visit the website: “04-15/06/2016 - 4th Summer School on Ancient Technology”