Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 25, 2023

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Map of Kavvadias's excavations on the Acropolis
Map of Kavvadias's excavations on the Acropolis

Panagiotis Kavvadias (1850–1928) was a Greek archaeologist. He was responsible for excavations of the city of Epidaurus, of the Acropolis of Athens (map pictured), and on his native island of Kephallonia. As Ephor General, the head of the Greek Archaeological Service, from 1885 until 1909, Kavvadias oversaw the service's expansion and the introduction of Law 2646 of 1899 which increased the state's powers to prevent illegal excavations and antiquities smuggling. Credited with completing the modern transformation of the Acropolis into a historic landmark, he uncovered many of its monuments. He oversaw the opening of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and organised its first collections. He was also a professor at the University of Athens. Regarded as energetic, centralising and autocratic, he was criticised by native Greek archaeologists, and removed from office in 1909. He returned to public and academic life in 1912, and remained active in Greek archaeology until his death. (Full article...)

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