Classical Archaeologist - Taylor Cwikla
Taylor with some of the
local stray dogs that she feeds! ❤️
Taylor is the current Steinmetz Fellow based at Corinth for the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA).
We met during my recent visit to Greece, and I wanted to highlight the work of this engaging young woman. She spent some time with me showing me the site of Ancient Corinth, including the museum and the spectacular ceramic storage facilities, and also accompanied Amelia Brown, Caroline Puzinas and I to the site of the Temple of Demeter, Kore and the Fates. I’m grateful for her interest in my work and sharing her time at the site.
Taylor is 28 years old, and graduated with an MA in 2022 from Florida State University, with a degree in Classical Archaeology focusing on the Etruscans. She initially did field work in Cetamura [1], in the Chianti region of Italy, and then has worked in Corinth including one season of excavation work. After she graduated, she began teaching at Currey Ingram Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee. For a year and a half she taught ancient world history and electives to Grade 9 students. She “loved the freedom of teaching 15-year-old boys and girls with learning differences” and was provided excellent administrative support at the Academy for project-based activities.
While her academic background had focused more on Roman archaeology, and Latin, she was also very interested in Greek archaeology and applied to the Steinmetz Fellow Family Museum Fellowship, and was surprised when she was accepted in October 2023.[2] Part of the acceptance included a requirement for modern Greek language, and Taylor was diligently studying when she wasn’t working at the museum in Ancient Corinth. Her position for the fellowship is under Collections Management, Outreach and Educational Programming, which she provides in English. This includes creating lessons plans, and giving virtual field trips. Her background teaching would have been a significant benefit for this position. She is working hard to raise awareness of the materials available about the site. Taylor also attends conferences and does outreach trying to connect with more teachers and creating access to resources.
Her favourite program is the mobile integrated display case, which allows her to have students interact more closely with artifacts, and can be customized for a specific topic.
It has currently been set up for a discussion on polychromy in Ancient Greece, with includes pigments and tactile objects that allow people to engage and connect with objects, increasing accessibility. Visitor interaction allows them to view materials (replicas) and learn about topics of interest, increasing Taylor’s understanding of the type of questions they may have, in order to improve the engagement at the museum.
She has also developed ‘Museum Maker’ which came under EU funding to continue to digitize the contents of the museum at Corinth. Over 100,000 inventory cards have been scanned, and the database is publicly accessible.[3]
The research database [4] is also used by students to learn about digital literacy, primary source materials, writing and critical thinking. Students pick an object, research it, create labels and a display, while coordinating with Taylor. She is promoting different methods of learning - shifting from exam to enquiry-based learning.
The real-world tangible displays get feedback from tourists through a guest book.
Taylor enjoys the work and feels like she is continuing to learn something new every day. She connects with students through the museum program and this learning program and from their questions.
I asked Taylor about her favourite object in the museum, and she told me about it, but it hasn’t yet been published, so I promised I wouldn’t reveal her secret. For her favourite object on the site, she didn’t hesitate. It is the ‘Nine men’s morris’ game [5] scratched into the base of the statue for Augustus.
When I asked her where she thought she might be in five years, this is what she had to say:
“I don’t know. I’m 100 percent all in for teaching about the history of the world. Perhaps obtaining my PhD. I really loved the engaging teaching at the high school level. It made me feel like I was making a difference. The kind of teaching where you see your students developing every month.”
In closing I asked if there was anything else she wished to share:
“I would like to give my thanks to the absolute generosity of the Steinmetz family. So much of the information that people around the world now have access to can be attributed to them. The reach they are having for adult learners in addition to K-12 students has made collections more personal and accessible. It is a treasure.”
Taylor is a passionate archaeologist and educator, with a bright future ahead of her. I can’t wait to see where she lands after her stay at Corinth. I want to thank her for her discussions with me, and wish her the best of luck in all her endeavours.
[1] Cetamura del Chianti - https://www.cetamuradelchianti.com/
[2] Corinth Excavations Steinmetz Family Foundation Museum Fellow- Taylor Cwikla - https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/excavations/ancient-corinth/contact-staff/corinth-excavations-steinmetz-family-foundation-taylor-cwikla
[3 Digital resources for Corinth - https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/excavations/ancient-corinth/digital-corinth
[4] Corinth database - https://corinth.ascsa.net/research?v=default
[5] Nine men’s morris - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_men%27s_morris
Interestingly, during my online search of Taylor, I found this ‘Amphora’ drawn by Taylor and submitted to the Archaeological Institute of America’s ArchaeoDoodles - https://www.archaeological.org/archaeodoodles/archaeodoodle-39552/ . Taylor appears to have many talents!
Link to my prior posts on Ancient Corinth, and Demeter, Kore and the Fates.
