PDA is an acronym for the Pylos Digital Archive. Currently it consists of approximately 300 digital images of the Bronze Age palace at Epano Englianos, Greece. The images were digitized from the more than 4000 color positives, color negatives and black-and-white negatives collected by the Minnesota Archaeological Researches in the Western Peloponnese (MARWP) - Pylos Project. MARWP conducted fieldwork at Epano Englianos from 1990 to 1998.

All of the photographs and slides were shot with cameras handheld, mounted on tripods or bipods, and a helicopter. A Minnesota Humanities Commission Works in Progress grant provided funding for PDA in 2002 and several individuals and institutions joined in its production. Please see the Copyright Notice if you wish to use or reproduce these images in any format.

MARWP, under the direction of Frederick A. Cooper and Michael C. Nelson, began fieldwork at the palace at Epano Englianos in 1990. The objective was to document all the extant architecture and other preserved features, which were originally uncovered in 1939, and the 1950s and 60s. In order to do this, MARWP re-excavated the protective backfill and exposed the entire palace complex. Reports and initial findings were presented on a regular basis at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America. The project bibliography and some of the field reports can be found at the MARWP website. Final publication is in progress and is expected to reach press in 2003.

MARWP finished work at the palace in 1998 and re-backfilled the remains. Today only the Main Building is open to the public. Low mounds of earth conceal the walls and floors of the ancillary buildings and other trenches sunk on and about the hilltop.

Michael C. Nelson
Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
nelsonm@macalester.edu