For the second consecutive year, on Friday 26 September, the Department of Culture and Creative Industries participated in the Mediterranean Researcher’s Night, at the Athena Research Center building, in Xanthi. The members of the department presented the ECHOES and DATAPOT projects, as well as the work of the Archaeological GIS Laboratory (AeGIS Athena) and informed interested visitors about the goals and results of the department’s activities.
The kick-off meeting of the THRACE-CONNECT project was held on 12/6/2025, with the participation of the members of the ATHENA RC team (Despoina Tsiafaki, Vassilis Evangelidis, Yiannis Mourthos, Melpomeni Karta, Kostas Stavroglou, Maria Topalidou), in the ILSP department of Xanthi. The research project “Unraveling Connections between Aegean and inland Thrace via the Rhodope mountains, through archaeological exploration and spatial technology (THRACE-CONNECT)” is implemented in the framework of H.F.R.I call “3rd Call for H.F.R.I.’s Research Projects to Support Faculty Members & Researchers” (H.F.R.I. Project Number: 23755).
THRACE-CONNECT explores the ancient communication networks linking Aegean Thrace to its inland regions via the Rhodope Mountains, from the Archaic to the Roman period. By integrating archaeological, historical, and geospatial data, the project investigates the Rhodope as a transitional zone and cultural crossroads. Utilizing GIS technologies and advanced visualization techniques, it aims to reconstruct ancient routes and uncover the socio-cultural dynamics that shaped the region.
On May 5, 2025, members of Dr. Despoina Tsiafaki’s team, Ioannis Mourthos and Meliana Karta, visited the 2nd Senior High School of Xanthi and presented the project “Echoes” (https://echoesproject.gr/), its historical significance for the city of Xanthi, as well as the new technologies that were utilized for the implementation of the project.
As part of the J. Paul Getty Museum’s “New Archaeology of Ancient Thrace” lecture series on April 28, 2025, Dr. Despoina Tsiafaki gave a lecture entitled “The Archaeological Heritage of Aegean Thrace”. For more information, follow the link: https://www.getty.edu/calendar/archaeology-ancient-thrace/
With speeches, workshops, scientific activities and live interaction with students and audiences of all ages, the 1st Xanthi Puzzle Festival was completed, which lasted from April 4 to 6, 2025 and took place at the Athena Research Center (Xanthi Division), at the Multiplex of Art and Thought of Xanthi, at the Old City Hall of Xanthi, at the “Odysseas” Mobile Education Unit in the central Square as well as at the “P” Tobacco Warehouse.
The Puzzle Festival came from Kastellorizo to Xanthi, with the following goal: to share the knowledge of a pioneering and multi-thematic scientific festival, which has already conquered its local community and now seeks to share its knowledge with other remote areas of Greece.
For more information, visit the page: https://xanthipuzzlefestival.gr/ and https://www.facebook.com/xanthi.puzzle.festival
