Writing Assignment 1:
“The Ancient Methone Archaeological Project: The Movie.”
Think about the topic and narrow it down to an aspect or aspects you can discuss in the
prescribed word limit. Construct a thesis: what is it that YOU are arguing? Discuss the
evidence and what are the assumptions being made. Prepare an outline and follow it.
Papers with section headings are usually the best structured.
Be critical in a thoughtful way: construct a logical argument, evaluation, and/or interpretation of your topic and back it up with evidence in which the interpretive method(s) or models used are systematic and explicit.
Please view the following film on the UCLA Ancient Methone Archaeological Project:
https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/news/newsDetails/webinar-the-ancient-methone-archaeological-project-the-movie, and also read S.P. Morris and J.K. Papadopoulos et al.,
“The Ancient Methone Archaeological Project: A Preliminary Report on Fieldwork,
2014-2017,” Hesperia 89, 2020, pp. 659-753 (reading 22).
Prepare a short overview of the material covered. In your overview, please make sure to answer the following questions:
- What are the periods brought to light by the excavations at Methone?
- What were the field methods used on the project (e.g., excavation, surface survey, geophysical and geomorphological prospection, LiDAR, etc.)?
- What was important about ancient Methone?
- Who besieged Methone and brought an end to the settlement; when did this happen, and why?
- What individual find at the site caught your attention the most and why?