Dr. Spencer Pope, Project Director
Spencer Pope is an associate professor in the department of Classics at McMaster University. He received a PhD from The Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University and a BA from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. He has excavated at numerous archaeological sites in Italy, including Paliké (modern Rocchicella di Mineo), Naxos and Ustica. His research interests include urban planning and domestic architecture in the Greek world, Greek colonization and interactions with indigenous populations, Greek Numismatics and Ancient Greek finances and economics.
Dr. Sveva Savelli, Project Director
Sveva Savelli is an associate professor of Ancient Studies and Intercultural Studies in the department of Languages and Cultures at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has a PhD in Classical Archaeology from the University of Naples “L’Orientale” and an MA from the Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene (The Italian Archaeological Institute in Athens). Dr. Savelli has excavated at numerous sites in Italy and Greece. Her main interests focus on the history and archaeology of the Western Mediterranean during the Iron Age.
Christine Davidson, Assistant Director
Christine is a lecturer for the Ancient Greek and Roman Studies/Anthropology programs at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Her PhD research (McMaster University) investigates rural communities and sanctuary frequentation in the countryside of Metaponto and identifies routes of access throughout this area. Her areas of interest include GIS, ancient pathways, and digital humanities.
Adrian Talotti Proestos, Assistant Director
Adrian is a PhD candidate in the Department of Greek and Roman studies at McMaster University. His PhD research examines connectivity and mobility of Oenotrian and other Italic peoples in Southern Italy from the 10th to the 6th centuries BCE. The techniques he uses involve landscape and GIS approaches to archaeological material. His areas of interest include the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Italy, ancient economy, warfare in antiquity, and field archaeology.
Felice Perciante, Archaeologist
Eric Del Fabbro, Assistant Director
Eric is a PhD candidate in the Department of Greek and Roman studies at McMaster University. His PhD research examines settlement patterns in the countryside around Metaponto through analysis of the ceramic material collected during archaeological field survey. His areas of interest include Greek ‘colonization’, ancient pottery production, and the formation of the polis.
Dr. Amedeo Rossi, Archaeologist
Dr. Pope and Dr. Savelli are joined by an international team of talented experts. Dr. Santo Privitera is a specialist in Aegean Prehistory and is studying the Bronze Age material from the survey. Patrick Deluca, of McMaster University, assists with mapping and GIS operations at Metaponto.
These members are joined by professionals in the fields of geology, zoology, geomorphology, hydrography, remote sensing, material science and many others.