By Trevor Van Damme

On May 22, the 2023 season at ancient Eleon officially got underway. The first two weeks focused on site clearing and maintenance works in preparation for the excavation of new tests trenches based on the 2021 and 2022 geophysical study. Backfilling was carried out on parts of the Blue Stone Structure to preserve this important monument for future generations and to improve the overall site aesthetics. The next phase of conservation work will entail wall consolidation of the remaining exposed architecture, following a detailed architectural study.

A major innovation to our project this season was the adoption of digital recording in real time of all finds through the use of the iDig application (Figure 1). We are especially grateful to Bruce Hartzler, the app’s creator, for taking time to assist us in setting up the system and to Brian Martens from the Athenian Agora excavations for showing us how it works in the field.

The iDig application allows data to be seamlessly entered and shared by all trenches allowing for more effective information sharing between the field team, conservators, and laboratory staff. The transition has offered exciting opportunities for integrating what were previously separate databases in one location. Next up is integrating the historical data from the 2011-2018 field seasons, so that the excavation team has access to the our project archive as well. We hope to complete this transfer in the upcoming months.

This season our team includes over 40 members, including 6 undergraduate students enrolled in GRS 495: Practicum in Archaeology offered through the University of Victoria. As is customary, our students will share insights over the coming weeks into their experiences and highlight some of the daily work in progress. We look forward to sharing their blog posts over the coming weeks!