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On the 1st April, the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum / Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο and the British School at Athens presented the double-volume edited by Robin Barber “Phylakopi, Melos, 1896-99. The finds in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens”, an event kindly initiated and hosted by the NAM. The book launch was very well attended and it was great to see the NAM amphitheatre full of people from all generations of the archaeological community in Athens. The talks highlighted the great value of revisiting legacy excavation material with fresh eyes, from one of the first sites that the BSA excavated at the end of the 19th century.

The prehistoric city of Phylakopi on the island of Milos, which flourished throughout the 2nd millennium BC, was excavated by the British School at Athens between 1896-1899 and the research was first published in 1904. The finds were transferred to the National Archaeological Museum of Greece where they have been preserved to this day, while a significant selection have been part of the Museum’s permanent exhibition of Cycladic antiquities since the early 20th century. In a landmark project undertaken between 2010-2023, all of the material from the historical excavation was re-visited by a large BSA research team, under the tireless direction of Professor Robin Barber. The two-volume publication was published as a BSA Supplementary Volume in Summer 2024.

The study and publication demonstrate the strong synergy between colleagues from the BSA and the staff of the National Archaeological Museum. It also shows the great potential for revisiting and rediscovering finds from older excavations. Our warmest congratulations go to Robin for this huge achievement and our thanks to all those involved in the publication and the celebratory event too.