Michael "Bodhi" Rogers, Associate Professor of Physics, received an NSF Award for Noninvasive Study of Late Bronze Age Cities in Cyrprus. Using equipment obtained by Ithaca College from a previous NSF grant, this collaborative project will conduct three, four-week sessions of geophysical surveying at two important Late Bronze Age urban centers in south-central Cyprus: Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios and Maroni. Combined with digital mapping and 3D modeling of previously excavated architecture, this work will allow the researchers to assemble complete urban plans of these sites.

This will significantly expand the dataset of Late Bronze Age architecture and, by applying analytical methods such as access and visibility analyses, provide unprecedented new insights into how the new urban environments organized social interactions that supported or undermined broader social structures.

In addition, the project will develop a geographic information system-based database of architectural and archaeological data that will be made available to any interested parties on the project website. The project will also further the development of collaborative training opportunities in archaeological geophysics for students from Cornell University, Ithaca College, and the University of Cyprus.

The results of this research will be broadly applicable as its methods and objectives are interdisciplinary in design and scope, combining social archaeology with physics, environmental psychology, architecture, planning, and urban geography. The work will be widely disseminated in a variety of media, including peer-reviewed journals, major conferences, public lectures and a project website which will serve as an important research tool. In addition, the project will forge international collaboration with research institutions on Cyprus, including the Cyprus Institute and the University of Cyprus.

Given the current importance of understanding the dynamic effects of cities on ever-growing urban populations, the research brings some much-needed time depth and historical perspective to this issue. Ultimately, this project has the potential to shed new light on a transformative period in the Cypriot past while at the same time enhancing the infrastructure for scientific research and providing several students with exciting opportunities in experiential learning.

Congrats Michael!