Dig Greece

Introduction

The Project: In Depth

Ancient Halieis

Halieis House 7

The Team

Budget

Project Specifications

The Project: In Depth

The AIA's Annual Family Fair draws a large crowd of parents and children eager to learn about archaeology.

Children have a natural fascination with the past, and this can been seen in the success of such events as the Family Fair held at the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). But such events reach a limited number of children. To reach a much larger audience, the AIA proposes to develop--in collaboration with the Onassis Public Benefiit Foundation--a simulated online excavation using real data from research conducted by Professor Bradley Ault of the University of Buffalo at the site of Halieis in southern Greece. This will be an exciting, multi-tiered resource for both individual and classroom use. Grade 6 through introductory college level students will get their first taste of the thrill of archaeological discovery in this professionally created virtual environment.

Demonstrating proper bow-drawing technique at the 2007 Fair

By "excavating" and dating the site, formulating their own conclusions about the function of the rooms and artifacts, and relating regional and historical information to their interpretations, students will become familiar with the fundamentals of archaeological science. Players will choose tools, be required to keep a notebook and make archaeological drawings, have the ability to hire experts, keep a budget, and manage all decisions about excavation techniques used on site. The simulation will provide an entertaining and educational experience that teaches how an excavation works from beginning through final publication.

Specific finds, both artifacts and features, and interpretations will be used as jumping-off points from which students will investigate and learn about ancient Greek culture. The house selected from the Halieis excavation has an exceptionally rich archaeological record that reflects basic household infrastructure and economy, cooking and cuisine, social life, and religion, not to mention day-to-day activities.

Archaeology's Interactive Digs

AIA Lesson Plans

The simulated excavation will complement the real Interactive Digs (such as the classical city of Sagalassos and the Predynastic settlement and cemetery of Hierakonpolis) that are important components of the Archaeology website, as well as the extensive lesson plans in the education section of the AIA website (which include a series of "shoe-box digs" for classroom use). In its simplest iteration, the simulated excavation will be appropriate for the AIA's children's website, currently in development. A specially commissioned lesson plan will provide educators the needed tools to teach both archaeology and Greek culture based on the Halieis house simulation and the other resources on the AIA and Archaeology websites. Both the simulation and lesson plan will be available in English and Greek versions.

The simulation will be an integral part of the existing Archaeology magazine website (currently attracting 5.6 million page views/year) and AIA website (currently attracting 2.0 million page views), allowing students both to do the simulated excavation and to explore the extraordinary wealth of information about the field on the websites; links to related sites of interest and reading materials will also be included. In its simplest form, the Halieis simulation will be a cornerstone of a children's website that we are now developing.