On Site: Canadian Archaeologists in Greece ed. by Stefanie A.H. Kennell (review)

27° BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS Given the conference's desire to "assess the current state ... of Parthenon studies," a compilation of recent scholarship would have been appreciated , but one can easily troll through the bibliographies of the individual essays to find the relevant information. In alL this is an attractive volume with much to recommend it, not necessarily for the new information to be found, but for the discussion it will generate. CRAIG I. HARDIMAN DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICAL STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO WATERLOO, ON N2L 3GI STEFANIE A.H. KENNELL, ed. On Site: Canadian Archaeologists in Greece. Athens: Motibo, 2005. Pp. 87. ISBN 960-661017 -9 (paper). At the outset, let me say that I am of the opinion that Canadians should know more about the CAIA-the Canadian Archaeological Institute in Athens, recently renamed the Canadian Institute in Greece, the CIGand about the work carried on under its auspices. Therefore I applaud the Institute for taking the initiative to produce this first, brief general introduction. It is a book which the then Director Stefanie A.H. Kennell describes in her prefatory "Message" (6-7) as an "opportunity to bring the story of Canadian archaeology in Greece to a larger audience than ever before" (6). For her, the book will have succeeded if it yields "a better appreciation of the fieldwork of Canadians in the past, present and future. " The main body of the book, which is framed by the "Director's Message " (6-9) and a "Selected Bibliography" (84-85), comprises seven chapters which fall readily into two quite distinct sections. The first two chapters-"Paving the Way: Early Travelers & Scholars" (11-19) and "Canada Ventures Abroad" (21-2g)-present, respectively, introductions to four great, earlier Canadian archaeologists in Greece (Charles Trick Currelly, Gilbert Bagnani, Homer Thompson, and James Walter Graham) and a brief account of the founding and early struggles of the CAIA. The remaining five chapters-"Exploring Central & Northern Greece" (31-46), "Excavating Stymphalos" (47-56), "Exploring Southern Euboea" (57-62), "Crete from the Stone Age to the 20th Century" (63-72), and "Surveying the Aegean and its Islands" (73-83)-provide an overview of archaeological projects conducted over the last three decades under the auspices of the CAIA. Thus, in a brief eighty-seven pages (which include just under ninety black-and-white or colour illustrations) BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS we are introduced to a series of individual personalities and projects which are central to the history of Canadian archaeology in Greece. The descriptions move through archaeologists' memoirs, site explanations, commentaries on ancient authors, the practicalities of being a Canadian in the Greek scene, the description of discoveries etc. As a result the reader is taken for a ride which is sometimes as bumpy as a spring road in New Brunswick-always interesting but not always what you were expecting. Some will find this a strength, others will see it as a weakness; all the separate bits are very interesting and informative (hence a strength) as they reveal the idiosyncrasies involved in a given project, but the bits do not follow any set pattern (hence a weakness), and so it is not always evident how the bits are meant to fit together. The reason for the patchwork feel of the text, one must assume, would be a lack of one authorial voice. We are, in fact, never told who the author, or editor, of any given piece of text is. And while there is a list of "Contributors" (4), which includes most of the individuals who have led work on the various sites treated in the book, there is no indication who wrote, or edited, specific portions of the contributions. (While we are told [4] that the "Series editorU is Diane Shugart, it is not clear what contribution she has made to this particular volume, which is one of the On Site series, produced by Motibo Books [Athens], a series published in Greece and meant to "tell the story of foreign archaeology in Greece..-http://www.motibo.com/en/onsite/htm.) In any event, I would have enjoyed the book even more if I had known for sure who was writing what. A more careful...