Corinth Excavations Publishes Project Manual with The Digital Press at University of North Dakota

Download the media packet here (.zip)

The Digital Press to Publish Excavation Manual
by Guy Sanders, Sarah James and Alicia Carter Johnson.

The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota is proud to announce the publication of Corinth Excavations Archaeological Manual. This is the first major field manual published from an American excavation in Greece and one of only a handful of field manuals from the eastern Mediterranean in the past several decades.

The site of the ancient Greek city of Corinth sits in a politically-strategic position in the Peloponnese. Study of the site reveals remains dating as far back as 6,000 B.C., but is perhaps known to many as the subject of letters from Saint Paul or as the location of the famous Corinth Canal started as a construction project of the Emperor Nero. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) has led systematic excavations on the site since 1896, making it one of the oldest archaeological projects in Greece.

Guy Sanders at the Site of Ancient Corinth

A field manual provides the blueprint for an archaeological project to ensure methodological consistency for fieldwork practice, collection and treatment of artifacts, features and even burials. Sarah James, assistant professor at the University of Colorado said, “Manuals encourage project-wide consistency in recording practices, from the field to the museum, which facilitates the speed and efficiency of interpretation and publication of results.”

“Manuals encourage project-wide consistency in recording practices, from the field to the museum, which facilitates the speed and efficiency of interpretation and publication of results.”

Corinth Excavations has long served as a training school for hundreds of American students of Mediterranean archaeology. James’ said, “As a teaching tool, this manual explains the method and theory behind most aspects of an archaeological project. It is therefore useful as a handbook in both the classroom and in the field.”

“As a teaching tool, this manual explains the method and theory behind most aspects of an archaeological project. It is therefore useful as a handbook in both the classroom and in the field.”

Publishing this landmark text not only opens the methodology and practice to students, but also field excavators and Mediterranean scholars. Guy Sanders, director of Corinth excavations since 1997 said, “Probably the biggest change is in the way in which we work as a community. Where the direction and interpretation of the excavation had been strictly hierarchical, today decisions and interpretation are a discussion between the technicians who do the digging, the student recorders and the staff.”

“Where the direction and interpretation of the excavation had been strictly hierarchical, today decisions and interpretation are a discussion between the technicians who do the digging, the student recorders and the staff.”

According to Sanders, “The results are some drastic changes in the way in which we understand the site especially in its Hellenistic, Late Roman, Medieval and Early modern phases.”

The Corinth Excavations Archaeological Manual is available for free as a download. A low-cost paper version of the manual is available for purchase from Amazon.

The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota serves “to publish timely works in the digital humanities, broadly conceived. Whenever possible, we produce open access, digital publications, that can attract local and global audiences”.