With the participation of 23 students from seven (7) universities, the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) "Cyprus Experimental Field School (CEF): From Cultural Heritage to Materials Science – The Female Potters of Cyprus" was successfully completed. The program was organized by the Open University of Cyprus (OUC), with scientific coordinator Dr. Xenia Charalambidou, from July 8 to 16, 2024. The BIP aimed to provide students with knowledge about the cultural heritage and pottery art in Cyprus. A significant contribution to its success was made by the ethnoarchaeologist Dr. Gloria London, who has systematically studied the female potters of Cyprus since 1986 and travelled to the island from the United States of America exclusively for the purposes of the program.
Under the teaching and guidance of X. Charalambidou, Gl. London, and B. McLoughlin, the participating students combined theory and practice and collaborated in the preparation, construction, and decoration of vessels with female potters of Cyprus in the villages of Kornos, Agios Dimitrios, and Foini (Vasoula Adami, Loukia Kourani, Louiza Constantinou, Maria and Chryso Krokou, Heroula Solomou, Eleni Platt). They delved into not only the construction and use of traditional ceramics but also the understanding of the materials used in their making. The BIP also aimed to highlight the art of pottery as an ethnographic element closely linked with the cultural heritage of Cyprus and to understand the history of pottery art through the ages. The students also collaborated through lectures and tours with academics and researchers from the University of Cyprus (Professor Georgios Papasavvas, Dr. Anna Georgiadou) and The Cyprus Institute - Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC) (Professor Thilo Rehren, Associate Professor Evi Margaritis).
The Blended Intensive Programme was the result of the successful collaboration of the Open University of Cyprus with the University of Crete, the University of Thessaly, the University of the Aegean, the University of the Peloponnese, the University of Patras, and the University of Warsaw.
Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oucyprus/albums/72177720319236091
