Astypalaia Bound

June has come to a close, so that must mean it is time to return to the Greek island of Astypalaia.  Just a brief geography lesson for you, the island is in the Aegean Sea and belongs to the Dodecanese chain.  If you are looking for it on a map, it is relatively close to Rhodes.  Astypalaia is the butterfly shaped island literally in the middle of nowhere.

I will be participating in a bioanthropology project run by University College London.  This will be my fifth season working on this particular site.  The project focuses on excavation of the Kylindra burial ground, the world's largest cemetery for newborn babies.  How large is the Kylindra cemetery?  I am not sure of the exact number, but at least two thousand burials have been excavated to date.  Photos of the lab or the human remains are not allowed, so I will not be posting photos of my work.  However, if you google "Astypalaia field school", you will find some lab photos under the images tab.


My travel dates are June 29 - July 28.  I will start to post photos as I get organized, but that may take a few days.  Jet lag often prevents my brain cells from working.

Feel free to comment or ask questions about my posts or the Kylindra site.

I took this photo a couple of years back as we were going out to the beach at Agios Konstantinos. The little outcropping of white buildings is the main village on Astypalaia, called Chora.  It is the most densly populated village on the island.  The body of water in front of the village is Livadi Bay, it is where I go swimming most days.

More soon.
CB