With the grant from the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation, the restorative works on the western stoa of the Gymnasium in Ancient Messene greatly progressed in 2020 and will continue in 2021.
While adhering to COVID-19 regulations, works on the substructure and the stylobate were completed. At the same time, all the remaining pillars were positioned in the Stoa. New limestone capitals were crafted, as the original ones had been used in lieu of construction materials or in the production of lime. For similar reasons, there are missing or crumbling architraves, the soldering and filling of which will continue during 2021. In the meantime, architectural parts of the stoa were also conserved.
Support offered for the systematic archeological research in Clenia cave, which has been accepted by the Ephorate of Paleoanthropology and Speleology. The members of the Board of Directors of the Foundation examined a request by Mr. Dimitris Hatziangelou, an archaeologist at the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, Department of Supervision of Greek and Foreign Scientific Institutions and Coordination of Issues of International Cooperation and Organizations, Hellenic Ministry of Culture, for support of the research being carried out at Clenia cave. The members of the Board unanimously approved a grant of 5,000 euros, provided that any required permit is obtained and a cultural sponsorship agreement is signed with the competent body of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
Grant for the continuation of excavations at “Faneromeni”, Hiliomodi in Corinthia, under archaeologist Dr Eleni Korka.
The research being carried out by the General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage at the site of “Faneromeni”, Hiliomodi in Corinthia, aims to explore the residential fabric of Ancient Tenea and its cemeteries. The results of the excavations in 2019 were positive, with a number of important finds presented at the World Conference held in Corinth on December 5, 2019. The Foundation’s Board members expressed their satisfaction at the progress of the systematic excavations, deemed that its aims are in line with those of the promotion of Greek art and culture, to which the Foundation also aspires, and approved a grant of 15,000 euros in order for the project to continue in 2020.
Approval of a grant to the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades for the systematic excavation at the site of Mandra on the island of Despotiko. The Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, through the archaeologist Yannos Kourayos, head of the dig at Despotiko, addressed the members of the Board of the Foundation, requesting their support in the excavation at the sanctuary and on Tsimintiri, an islet that in ancient times formed part of Despotiko. Moreover, the Ephorate will continue the restoration work as well as the maintenance of the finds, ancient members and masonry. The members of the Board of Directors of the Foundation unanimously approved a grant of 32,000 euros to cover the archaeological research for the year 2020, provided that administrative licenses are obtained and a cultural sponsorship agreement is signed.
Financial support to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the recruitment of three Greek trained conservators for the Malcom H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science in Athens, with the aim of preserving and recording the remaining osteological material excavated at the ancient cemetery at the Faliron Delta. The ancient cemetery at the Faliron Delta is the largest cemetery to be discovered in the long history of excavations in Attica, with 1000 burials of adults and 500 children, as well as horse burials.
The mass graves of people with traces of violence from metal or non-metal bonds, inside the cemetery fabric, raise huge questions about their identity and their relationship with the city of Athens. The ancient cemetery at Faliron is a unique phenomenon, not only for Greece but for Europe, and needs to be studied in great detail.
Approval of the deferral of the financing of the amount of 260,000 euros for the restoration of the surviving architectural members of the colonnade of the western stoa of the Gymnasium of Ancient Messene until 2020-2021, at the request of Professor Petros Themelis, representative of the Society. The project and its anti-seismic and geotechnical surveys had been approved at a total cost of 260,000 euros. However, for procedural reasons, it was not possible to sign the required cultural sponsorship agreement in order for its implementation to take place between 2019 and 2020. The members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors approved the transfer of the 260,000 euro grant to 2020-2021 for the same reasons that they had approved the grant on 28/3/2019.
Approval of funding for the restoration of the surviving architectural members of the colonnade of the western stoa of the Gymnasium of Ancient Messene. The project, at a total cost of 260,000 euros, has been approved by ministerial decision as have its anti-seismic and geotechnical surveys. The members of the Board of Directors of the Foundation approved a grant of 260,000 euros in the years 2019 and 2020, taking into account the importance of the project which aims at the promotion of Greek Art and Culture. A prerequisite for the signing of the sponsorship agreement is the issuing of any required licenses.
Following a grant of 550,000 euros to the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, for the archaeological project of the architectural designs and partial restoration of the stoa of Philip in Delos and in response to the request of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades for the disbursement of 250,000, the members of the Board of Directors of the Foundation approved the requested disbursement, which is within the budget of the project based on the signed cultural agreement. The amount of 164,500 euros has already been disbursed for this project. For the approval of the disbursement of the amount of 250,000 euros, the Board of Directors of the Foundation requested that Mr. D. Athanasoulis, Head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades and the project architect Dimitra Mavrokordatou present the progress made so far. Using audiovisual material, the representatives of the Ephorate presented the progress of the project to the Board and referred to the unforeseen difficulties that make access difficult, due to geological conditions and due to the discovery of a significant number of new architectural members that add to the project’s authenticity, but at the same time force amendments upon the existing architectural designs and the extension of the schedule, with a subsequent increase of the budget. The Foundation’s Board of Directors, taking into account the progress of the project and the huge symbolism that Delos has for free trade, approved the disbursement of the amount of 250,000 euros.
Approval of a grant to the “Diazoma” non-profit society, as part of the “Cultural Route of Epirus” program. “Diazoma” addressed the Foundation requesting a grant of 3,600 euros for the creation of a digital application for an audio tour of the theater of Ancient Dodoni. The members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, in recognition of the usefulness of the particular application for people with special needs as well as the combination of a public benefit action with the promotion of ancient monuments, unanimously approved the amount of 3,600 euros.
Grant to the “Opheltes” non-profit society and the Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology, UC Berkeley in support of the continuation of the “Tomb” project carried out at the archaeological site of Aidonia, Corinth by the Corinth Ephorate of Antiquities in collaboration with UC Berkeley and Kim Shelton, Director of the Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology. The “Tomb” project builds on and completes the excavation at the Mycenaean cemetery of Aidonia and comprises the conservation, cataloguing and analysis of the finds from the excavation’s previous phases. The members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors approved a grant of 20,000 euros, given that the objectives of the archaeological research are in line with the aims of the Foundation.
