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Lechaion Harbor Project

Expanding Geoarchaeology Opportunities for Underrepresented Students through Multiproxy Investigations of Human-Environmental Dynamics

The ºÚÁÏÍø Lechaion Harbor Project is jointly hosted by the Earth Science Department and Classics Department at California State University, Long Beach.

The Lechaion Harbor

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Lechaion Harbor satellite view

Lechaion was the first harbor of the ancient city of Corinth in Greece beginning in the late 8th century BCE. The port was critical to trade and commerce until the sack of Corinth by the Romans in 146 BCE. It was re-founded as a Roman colony in 44 BCE, serving as a major port until sometime in the 5th or 6th century CE when it was abandoned for reasons still to be determined.

Despite a robust historical record much is still unknown about the timing of the port's development as well as the intensity of human activity and how that activity impacted the local environment. This project integrates student training in archaeological techniques with research involving cutting-edge geochemical tools to unravel the history of this amazing site.

Archaeological Field Training

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research excavating archaeological site

ºÚÁÏÍø Lechaion Harbor Project participants will receive training in basic archaeological field techniques and specialized geoarchaeological and paleoenvironmental field and laboratory methods while conducting independent research projects. Field training will be done over the month of June in Lechaion, Greece, the ancient harbor of Corinth, and is followed by laboratory training and continued research on projects at ºÚÁÏÍø during the late summer and fall semester.

Participants will work with faculty mentors to prepare their results for presentation at an academic conference in 2026. Pre-field meetings will occur in spring 2025 and research and professional development seminars will be held in fall 2025 to prepare participants for scientific research, graduate school, and career programs.

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Lechaion Harbor team

Our goal is to provide a holistic education in archaeology and applied earth sciences that takes students through the entire research process from generating hypotheses to disseminating findings and removes barriers to undergraduate participation in research by funding students through the entire program.

Learn how to apply.