David B. Harper Argolid Exploration Project Records

David B. Harper earned his Bachelor of Science, with honors (Geology) from Bates College, Maine in 1959 and his Master of Regional Planning (Natural Sciences) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969. He served as a team member on the Argolid Exploration Project in 1970, 1971 and 1976 field seasons, sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania's Ancient History Department and Indiana University's Archaeology Department. In 1970, he familiarized himself with the project and topography. The following summer, he surveyed different water resources, especially community well systems. He returned to the area in 1976, and with others, served as an instructor at the Summer Field School in Archeology, History, and Anthropology in the Argolid of Greece, while also conducting more water surveys. From 1976 onward, he concentrated on art studies: Syracuse University from 1976-1987, with the Glen Echo Park Arts Program, National Park Service (Maryland, 1980-1982), at the Northern Virginia Community College (1981), and at the Onondaga Community College (1987). He is particularly keen on sculpture with several notable artistic accomplishments for both individual and group sculpture shows and installations. He has also worked on theatrical scenic design.

The Argolid Exploration Project of the Universities of Pennsylvania and Indiana began in 1950 and over multiple seasons, encompassed excavations at a Classical city site (Halieis) and a Stone-Age cave site (Fránchthi) as well as various ethnographic, archaeological, and geological studies. According to Jameson (1976), the Argolid Exploration Project focused on "(1) the Stone Age; (2) the Archaic and Classical periods; (3) the second Venetian conquest of the Pelpónnisos, 1685-1715…; and (4) the periods available for the study of traditional agriculture, from the early nineteenth century to the present day"(p. 88). Key members of the project included Michael Jameson, Hamish Forbes, Mary Forbes, James Dengate, Wolf Rudolph, Nicolas and Dorothy Gavrielides, Harold and Joan Koster, David Harper, Peter Topping, Robert Giegengack, Gerald Forney, Brian Drost, Tjeerd (Jerry) H. Van Andel, and Curtis Runnels. The excavations were primarily supported by the Indiana University Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania and the University Museum, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Geographic Society. Additionally, the studies were conducted under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the Archaeological Service of Greece.

Reference: Jameson, M.H. (1976), The Southern Argolid: The Setting for Historical and Cultural Studies. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 268: 74-91. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb47636.x

The collection was donated by David B. Harper in 2020 and consists of his personal records from Argolid Exploration Project fieldwork conducted in 1970, 1971, and 1976. The material includes planning or general correspondence, field notes that include project plans, well data, maps, photographs with some negatives, and an inventoried collection of color 35 mm slides (#1127). Some records, such as maps, are filed with oversized material. The collection also contains his reflections on and analysis of some of his prior data in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Some of the raw items were used in Harper's publication ""Just Add Water…"" Expedition (Philadelphia: Penn Museum, 1976).

The materials were reorganized within files, chronologically. More professional information on Harper can be found in his biographical file (e.g., resume). Records of the Argolid Exploration Project can also be found in the Penn Museum Archives' Radiocarbon Laboratory records (e.g., C-14 dating of material from Fránchthi and Halieis sites), the Elizabeth Ralph MASCA (Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology) records (e.g., magnetometer data from Halieis), and the Froelich Rainey Director's Office records (e.g., correspondence and reports from Michael Jameson). Additional records are maintained by Michael Jameson's surviving family members, Stanford University (e.g., Tjeerd H. van Andel Papers), Indiana University, and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives,

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Geographic Name(s)

• Archaeological geology--Greece--Argolis Peninsula
• Greece

Subject(s)

• Anthropological museums and collections
• Anthropology
• Archaeological expeditions
• Archaeological surveying