Ioannis Liritzis is professor of physics in archaeology and his field of specialization is the application of natural sciences to archaeology and cultural heritage. He studied physics at the University of Patras and continued at the University of Edinburgh, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1980. Since then, he undertook postgraduate work at the University of Oxford, Université Bordeaux III, University of Edinburgh and the Academy of Athens. Currently he is professor of archaeometry-Natural Sciences at the University of the Aegean and he directs the Laboratory of Archaeometry and Lab of Environmental Archaeology. Director and initiator of the Masters course Applied Archaeological Sciences. In the past he served as Head of the Department of Mediterranean Studies at the University of the Aegean, Member of the Senate of University of the Aegean and Member of the Executive Committee of National Recognition of Foreign Academic Diplomas. His prior career includes the Greek Ministry of Culture for 5 years and the Academy of Athens for 10 years. He has made major contributions to several interdisciplinary research fields and his work has been published in scientific journals such as Nature.
Work
Liritzis is best known for the invention of two novel dating methods. The method for surface luminescence dating where Liritzis extended the principles behind optical dating and thermoluminescence dating to include surfaces last seen by the sun before buried, of carved rock types from ancient monuments and artifacts, made of granite, basalt and sandstone and the obsidian hydration dating. Obsidian hydration dating established a new approach based on the surface saturation layer and the SIMS profile of hydrogen. Significant contributions in archaeoastronomy, in geophysics are also worth mentioning. Initiator of Delphi4Delphi International Project. He has written over 300 original papers in internationally cited journals and 9 books. Many Greek and international magazines and newspapers have referred to his work, as has the Discovery Channel. Liritzis has been elected as Membre Correspondant de l'Académie des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres de Dijon and Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts He was awarded the Prize of Academy of Athens for his Book Archaeometry: Dating Methods in Archaeology. Recently he was awarded the Costa Navarino International Archeometry Award Issued by the University of Peloponesse. He is Visiting Distinguished Professor at Henan University Visiting Scholar at the University of California San Diego. Liritzis is an editorial member in twenty International ICI Journals and is Editor-in-Chief of two. He is the PI and initiator and coordinates the Aegean University Archaeological excavation project in Delphi regarding the Late Mycenaean site near Delphi, Greece.
Articles (selection)
Liritzis, I, P. Volonakis, S. Vosinakis, G. Pavlidis.G Cyber-archaeometry from Cyber-archaeology: New dynamic trends in archaeometric training and research. In Virtual Archaeology, Daria Hokk, Proceedings of the Second International Conference held at the State Hermitage Museum 1–3 June 2015 Saint Petersburg The State Hermitage Publishers, 38-40
Liritzis, I, Panagiota Preka-Papadema, Panagiotis Antonopoulos, Konstantinos Kalachanis and Chris G.Tzanis Does astronomical and geographical information of Plutarch's De Facie describe a trip beyond the north Atlantic ocean?. Journal of Coastal Research, 34, 3, 651-674 https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-17-00105.1
Thomas E. Levy, T. Sideris, M. Howland, B. Liss, G. Tsokas, A. Stambolidis, E. Fikos, G. Vargemezis, P. Tsourlos, A. Georgopoulos, G. Papatheodorou, M. Garaga, D. Christodoulou, R. Norris, I. Rivera-Collazo, and I. Liritzis At-Risk World Heritage, Cyber, and Marine Archaeology: The Kastrouli–Antikyra Bay Land and Sea Project, Phokis, Greece. In T.E. Levy, I.W.N. Jones, Cyber-Archaeology and Grand Narratives, One World Archaeology, Springer International Publishing AG.
Liritzis, I, George Pavlidis, Spyros Vosinakis, Anestis Koutsoudis, Pantelis Volonakis, Matthew D. Howland, Brady Liss, Thomas E. Levy Delphi4Delphi - Acquisition of Spatial Cultural Heritage Data for Ancient Delphi, Greece. Ιn Matthew Vincent, Victor Manuel Lopez-Menchero Bendicho, Marinos Ioannides and Thomas E. Levy Heritage and Archaeology in the Digital Age: Acquisition, Curation, and Dissemination of Spatial Cultural Heritage Data. Publisher: Springer, 151-166.
