Author Topic: Odysseus dig to continue  (Read 4034 times)

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Online Maik

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Odysseus dig to continue
« on: Friday, 31 August, 2018 @ 11:38:03 »
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Odysseus’ Palace Archaeological Dig on Ithaca to Continue

A visit to from Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras is cause for renewed enthusiasm over continued excavations at the Palace of Odysseus on the island of Ithaca (Ithaki). Dionysis Stanitsas, mayor of the municipality, told reporters of his and Mr. Tsipras’ discussion on restarting the dig at Odysseus’ palace. The Prime Minister was said to have promised the Ministry of Culture extraordinary funding to continue the excavations.

Some 3,000 years after his fabulous and unforgettable journey, it looks like the work of a team of archaeologists from the University of Ioannina that came to a halt in 2009, may begin again soon.
https://www.argophilia.com/news/odysseus-palace-archaeological-dig-on-ithaca-to-continue/220877/


That's 3,000 years after the fabulous journey of Odysseus, not Tsipras  ;)

Offline U4ea

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Re: Odysseus dig to continue
« Reply #1 on: Friday, 31 August, 2018 @ 15:37:07 »
Nah! His Palace is somewhere on Let's Paliki Peninsula.

Many reAsons for this not the least of which is that according to the story it was on Greece's most westerly Island. Most westerly point of Greece is Gerogombos.

Offline Jolly Roger

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Re: Odysseus dig to continue
« Reply #2 on: Friday, 31 August, 2018 @ 20:07:52 »
About 10 years ago, I was in conversation with the archaeologist in charge of the dig at 'The School of Homer' and she informed me that they had proof that this was the Palace of Odysseus. She explained what they had found and then said that I should not mention this conversation to anyone, because there was about to be a press release! I never saw a press release and I cannot say that I was convinced by her evidence.

Online Maik

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Re: Odysseus dig to continue
« Reply #3 on: Friday, 31 August, 2018 @ 22:59:21 »
Bye 'eck, Rog, I can remember you telling me that at time.

according to the story

Aye, but that was written by some ancient travel writer who'd probably never been to Kef  ;)

Like a few folk I know, Odysseus had a holiday home on Kef. All that business about wandering the seas for ten years before he found his way home... he was shacked up on Kef with a bit of totty he picked up in Troy.

Offline U4ea

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Re: Odysseus dig to continue
« Reply #4 on: Sunday, 02 September, 2018 @ 13:25:02 »
Hardly an "ancient travel writer who'd never been to Kef, the book "Odysseus Unbound" was written by a Professor from Cambridge University He did extensive research on and off the Island which included an underwater survey conducted by the team from Aquatic Dive Centre in Agia Efemia. Their job was to search for traces of evidence of remains of a Channel on the sea bed between the Bay of Argostoli and what is now Kiriaki which would indicate that Paliki was once separate from the rest of Kefalonia. They found some evidence, which gives credence to the claim that Homer's Ithaka was in fact Paliki. The two areas coming together is in fact described in Homer's story.

The Channel is called Strabo's Channel.

This is why Makis from Aquatic was once not welcome on Ithaka.

The book is still available, or there's a good summary on WikiPedia. I know Wiki isn't always 100% correct, but there are lots of very creditable references given.

Offline TonyD

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Re: Odysseus dig to continue
« Reply #5 on: Sunday, 02 September, 2018 @ 15:41:57 »
Speaking of Digs, what became of the excavations at Agia Barbara?
The same excavation that called a halt to the proposed Glamping site.
Anyone know?
« Last Edit: Sunday, 02 September, 2018 @ 15:47:50 by TonyD »

Online Maik

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Re: Odysseus dig to continue
« Reply #6 on: Sunday, 02 September, 2018 @ 16:31:35 »
Ah, I thought by "the story" you meant Homer, not Bittlestone. Not sure either was a Professor at Cambridge although Bittlestone studied economics there. True enough, James Diggle was (is?) a professor at Cambridge and is credited with assisting with/co-writing the book Odysseus Unbound.

Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, had this to say about the book. I'm not convinced Paliki was ever a separate island. Apparently Fugro were drilling in the Livadi Gulf this summer so they haven't given up on the idea even though Robert Bittlestone passed away in 2015. I've never read the book, a bit pricey for me and the idea's a bit fanciful, IMO.

Ancient Greece (whatever that was) was a bit different from modern Greece in terms of area but I think Corfu was part of it and is further west than Kef (well, according to the map I looked at). Even further west is Sicily, which had several Greek colonies around the time of Homer (if not the Trojan War). Ithaka was claimed to be the most westerly of the islands near it, so Zakynthos and Levkas (which wasn't an island until a channel was cut through the marshy isthmus connecting it to the mainland, around C7 BC). There again, Homer was writing long after and almost certainly didn't visit Kef/Ithaki.

For anyone with the time and interest, try this .pdf from grsampson.net - Rog might find page 17 especially interesting.

Online Maik

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Re: Odysseus dig to continue
« Reply #7 on: Monday, 03 September, 2018 @ 02:47:11 »
Map of the islands, 1686. Dulichium is shown, pretty much in the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth. Also shown is a small island west of Zakynthos (and west of Kef). 
:dunno: