Despoina Tsiafaki, Research Director and Head of the Department of Culture and Creative Industries, discussed with Patrick O’Shea the THRACE-CONNECT project and the exploration of the archaeological and historical landscape of Rhodope. You can listen to the entire discussion at the link below. https://www.podomatic.com/…/2026-07-08T07_00_00-07_00
On May 27 and 28, 2026, the 1st Conference on the Research work of the Department of Archaeology and History of Art will be held at the Cast Museum of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The excavation at Karabournaki will be presented, with the speech of E. Manakidou, D. Tsiafaki and K. Tsonaka entitled “Research goals and digital media in the university excavation at Karabournaki”
For more information, visit the link: https://www.hist.auth.gr/events_seminars/29993/
On Thursday, May 7, 2026, the 2nd grade students of the 1st High School of Didymoteicho visited the ILSP/Athena RC, within the framework of the cultural program “Didymoteicho – Crossroads of Civilizations”. The students were informed about the work and activities of the Department of Culture and Creative Industries, while they were also given a tour of the laboratories of Archaeometry and Physicochemical Measurements, 3D Digitization “KLEPSYDRA”, and Automation, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, students from the European School visited the ILSP division in Xanthi and were given a tour of the building. They visited the laboratories and infrastructure of the building, while they were informed about the activities and research projects taking place, including those of the Department of Culture and Creative Industries
On the 9th of March, 2026, Dr. Despoina Tsiafaki, director of Research and Head of the Department of Culture and Creative Industries, will give a lecture entitled “Mountains Without Borders: Exploring the Archaeology of Southern Rhodope,” in Hall 2 of the Rectorate of Sofia University.
This lecture will present a synthetic review of archaeological sites identified in the southern Rhodope mountain range, with the aim of bridging the research gap between various archaeological datasets produced on different sides of modern national borders. Although the Rhodope has often been treated as a marginal upland zone, archaeological evidence reveals a dense and varied record of sites, routes, and activity areas from the Archaic to the Imperial period.
By bringing together published and newly documented material (e.g., settlements, fortifications, infrastructure, landscape features), the lecture explores how mountain environments structured mobility, communication, and cultural contact between Aegean and inland Thrace. Methodological approaches from landscape archaeology and spatial analysis will be discussed as tools for integrating fragmented regional data.
Drawing partly on ongoing work within the THRACE-CONNECT project (https://thraceconnect.athenarc.gr/en/main-page/), the talk highlights the value of cross-border and landscape-scale perspectives for reconstructing ancient connectivity and regional interaction.
For more information, visit the site: https://uni-sofia.bg/index.php/bul/novini/kalendar/publichna_lekciya_na_d_r_despina_ciafaki_mountains_without_borders_exploring_the_archaeology_of_southern_rhodope
