Kelsey Museum is proud to support archaeological research in the Mediterranean region for the 2024 field season. Each year, the Kelsey Museum sends out a call for proposals to qualified field archaeologists. A total of $50,000 will be awarded this year to four distinct projects.
Lisa Nevett’s investigations at Pella, Greece, will continue the excavation of a peristyle house to define its extent more securely, investigate patterns of activity in the structure, and explore the earlier history of the building. The Pella team will also continue the field survey with the aim of identifying—for the first time—the extent of the built-up area of Pella and characterizing functional variation across the site.
Excavations led by Christopher Ratté at Notion, Turkey, in 2022 and 2023 have shown that it will indeed be possible to investigate the development of the site over the Hellenistic period—its initial planning and its eventual abandonment. Funding from the Kelsey Museum will support further excavations on the nature of Roman and post-antique use of the site.
Under the direction of Kelsey Museum faculty curator Janet Richards, the 2024 field season of the Abydos Middle Cemetery Project in Abydos, Egypt, will complete the re-clearance of the Weni tomb complex to facilitate site visitation, excavate the remaining unexcavated areas of the exterior west and south walls of the Weni mastaba, initiate mudbrick conservation and restoration of the Weni mastaba, and continue conservation and documentation of artifacts, ceramic material, bioarchaeological remains, and architectural elements held in storage at the dig house.
For Nic Terrenato’s project at Gabii, Italy, Kelsey Museum funds will support soil removal and conservation of archaeological features, as well as transportation of staff to and from the site.
Congratulations to the recipients! We look forward to sharing updates from the field this summer for all Kelsey-affiliated projects.