Brendan Burke

Interests and Areas of Graduate Supervision:

Greek archaeology; Aegean Prehistory; Anatolian archaeology; Art and Architecture of ancient Greece; Textile production and ancient economies.

From 2021-2024 I was the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Classical Studies, at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. I supervise graduate students in Greek and Roman Archaeology both at UVic and at the site of ancient Eleon, Greece, where I co-direct field work on the excavation site.  Graduate students often participate in all aspects of field work, from surface survey to excavation and post-processing of finds. Often theses and dissertation topics will derive from original material from active excavations. 

Recent Publications:

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4123-9635

• “Cloth for the Dead at Ancient Eleon in Central Greece”, with B. Dimova, in Textilien im antiken Griechenland, Publikation zur Konferenz II, H. Frielinghaus, J. Stroszeck, A. Sieverling (eds.), Textilien im antiken Griechenland: ein Beitrag zur Potential-Evaluation. Beiträge zur Archäologie Griechenlands 8 (2023) 11-20.

• “King Midas’ Textiles: Dying and Weaving Technology in Ancient Phrygia,” with E. Simpson, M. Ballard, and A. Newsome, in The Textile Museum Journal 50 (2023) 4-31.
• “Ancient Chromophores and Auxiliaries: Phrygian Colorants from Tumulus MM at Gordion, Turkey, ca 740 BCE,” with M. Ballard, A. Newsome, and E. Simpson, in Heritage vol. 6 (2023) 2220-46. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6020118. 
• “Fieldwork of the Canadian Institute in Greece 2018,” lead author, with Z. Bonias, J. Y. Perreault, A. Charami, B. Burns, T. Carter, D. Athanasoulis, D. Nakassis, S. Gallimore, S. James, S. Karapanou, M. J. Haagsma, Mouseion Vol. 17.2 (series 3) (2021), 255-284.
• Mouseion: Special Issue on Ancient Eleon in Boeotia: Reports on Excavations, 2011–2015, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2021, LXII – Series III, edited by B. Burke and B. Burns. 
• “The Greek Bronze Age: Origins and Collapse,” Themes in Greek Society and Culture, eds. A. Glazebrook and C. Vester, Oxford University Press (2nd edition, Oxford, 2021).
• “Excavations at ancient Eleon 2012-2014: Memorializing the Past,” with B. Burns, A. Charami, and O. Kyriatzi, AETHSE 5: Αρχαιολογικό έργο Θεσσαλίας και Στερεάς Ελλάδας Proceedings of the 5th Archaeological Meeting of Thessaly and Central Greece, 2012-2014, Volos 26.2–1.3.2015, edited by A. Mazarakis-Ainian (Volos, 2020) 783-788.
• “Fieldwork at Ancient Eleon in Boeotia, 2011-2018,” with B. Burns, A. Charami, N. Herrmann, B. Lis, and T. Van Damme, American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 124, No. 3 (July 2020), 441–476. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3764/aja.124.3.0441 
• From Minos to Midas: Ancient Cloth Production in the Aegean and in Anatolia Ancient Textiles Series Vol. 7, (Oxford Oxbow Books) 2010.

Forthcoming Publications:

Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project – co-editor volume of Preliminary Reports on Excavations at Ancient Eleon 2011-2015 (in preparation).

The Golden King: Myths of Wealth in the Ancient World (monograph in preparation).

Current Projects:

I am currently co-directing excavations at the site of ancient Eleon in central Greece. This site has sat in relative obscurity for the past 2400 years. Located about 75 km north of Athens on a fertile plain connecting the major center of Thebes to the important waterway of the Euboean Gulf, the site preserves material from the Prehistoric (Mycenaean), Archaic-Classical, and Medieval periods. Our Canadian team has excavated here since 2011. We began our work based on results of a systematic survey (2007-2009) and on the prominent standing feature at the site -- a large polygonal wall constructed around 500 BCE. We are currently focused on a group of rock lined tombs containing the remains of several individuals. Based on ceramics, the entire structure and burials seem confined to the early Mycenaean period, sometimes called the Shaft Grave period after the famous burials at Mycenae (ca 1700-1450 BCE). 

Administrative Experience:

• Chair, Department of Greek and Roman Studies (2024-present) and previously, (2012-2019) 
• Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Classical Studies, at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (2021-2024)
• Interim Director, Canadian Institute in Greece (2018-19)
• Editor for Archaeology, Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2007-15), Editorial Board since 2005
• Teiresias Supplements Online, Advisory Board (2016-present)
• 2007-present     Co-Director, EBAP: Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project – Excavation. Synergasia of the Canadian Institute in Greece and 9th Ephoreia, (with B. Burns, A. Charami)
• 2017-2022         ASCSA Managing Committee, Executive Committee (elected)
• 2011-2016         ASCSA Publications Committee (elected)
• 2017-present     Canadian Institute in Greece Vision and Mission Committee, Chair
• 2012-present     Canadian Institute in Greece Excavation Survey Committee, Chair