Michael Lane, ancient studies instructor, is the recipient of a $26,000 New Research grant from the Institute of Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP). The grant funds the first six weeks of fieldwork around the Mycenaean citadel of Gla in the Kopaic Basin of Boeotia in central mainland Greece (13th cent. BCE).
The first phase of his project, known as Archaeological Reconnaissance of Uninvestigated Remains of Agriculture, will last for three years, and consist of extensive geophysical survey of the Mycenaean polder (dry land claimed from marshes) immediately around the stronghold, accompanied by collection of small finds from the ground surface in selected areas.
Lane hopes that positive results in this first stage of his research will allow his group to renew their grant from INSTAP, as well as enhance their chances of receiving funding in 2011 from such federal and private institutions as the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration. Following this first stage, excavations are expected to last 5-10 years and inform presentations and articles in major archaeology conferences and journals.
Working with Lane is UMBC alum Wes Bittner ’08, ancient studies, who is assisting with preliminary geographic information system analysis.
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