Dr Nefeli Pirée Iliou Short Bio
As an archaeologist, I have two main research interests: agricultural economies in Greece, and ancient sailing practices. The first grew out of my D.Phil. (completed at the University of Oxford), which investigated untapped material culture from rural rescue excavations to comprehend how different agricultural productions operated, and how technologies changed, over six centuries in Epirus during the Roman period. The second emerged from my love for sailing.
Currently I am exploring both topics, with a modern twist. I am studying traditional agricultural practices diachronically on the island of Astypalaia (where I am from), including but not limited to a sea-side winery (evidenced by a treading floor, press weight, and an underground rock-cut cellar). This, like other agricultural settlements, were abandoned long ago and are now under threat to be destroyed by the building of tourist resorts. Past agricultural ecosystems, which gave Astypalaia the name “Treasury of the Gods” (or Θεών Τράπεζα) in antiquity, may hold clues for reviving a more agriculturally productive, luxuriant, and watery Aegean island landscape in the future.
In the second topic—ancient sailing practices—I want to explore whether our understanding of the ancient maritime connectivity (or lack thereof) can be practically informed by sailing ancient sea-routes today. Especially valuable for this project would be to use traditional Aegean wooden boats, whose construction has relied on millennia-old local knowledge, but over 90% of which, unfortunately, have been destroyed since 1991, when the EU and Greek government first began subsidising the removal of fishing fleets as a way to reduce overfishing, with only few traditional Aegean boats remaining.
Beyond my research, I live in Greece and work as a philanthropy consultant. On weekends I can be found climbing mountains, swimming with a winter open-sea group, or strolling through the hills south of the Acropolis. I am very happy to once more be associated with the BSA, which has been a second home for me in Athens since my undergraduate studies at the University of St Andrews.
Selected Publications
Doctoral Dissertation:
Pirée Iliou, N. (2022) The Transformation of an Agricultural Economy: Forms of rural settlement in Epirus from the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE. Oxford.
Articles & Chapters:
Published
Boyd, M., C. Renfrew et. al. and Pirée Iliou, N. 2021. “Open area, open data: advances in reflexive archaeological practice.” Journal of Field Archaeology. https://bit.ly/33s9cEF.
Sweetman, R., A. Devlin, N. Pirée Iliou. 2018. “The Cyclades in the Late Antique period. Churches, Networks and Christianization.” in E. Angliker and J. Tully (eds.) Cycladic Archaeology and Research: New Approaches and Discoveries. Oxford. https://bit.ly/4f07AnY.
Pirée Iliou, N. 2014. “The temple of Roma and Augustus on the Athenian Acropolis: A Symbol of Roman Power?” The Post Hole, 40: 33-39. http://bit.ly/1O1smFl.
Articles & Chapters:
In Preparation
Pirée Iliou, N. “Who invited the Synepirotae to Ipiros? Fortified farms and networks of commerce in the late Republic and early Empire.”
Pirée Iliou, N. (In Press in Greek) “Οι αγροτικές επαύλεις της Ηπείρου κάτω από τον οικονομικό αστερισμό της Ρώμης. Eντυπώσεις μιας διδακτορικής φοιτήτριας.” in Πρακτικά Γ’ Πανηπειρωτικού Συνεδρίου. Η Ήπειρος διαχρονικώς. Ιωάννινα 1-3 Μαρτίου 2019. Ioannina.