UC experts share Griffin Warrior discoveries with America

Sharon Stocker and Jack Davis knew they were onto something special when 10 days into their University of Cincinnati excavations at Pylos, Greece, they found a thick layer of bronze.

The UC Classics researchers in 2015 uncovered the tomb of a Mycenaean leader they called the Griffin Warrior after the mythological creature emblazoned on a plaque in his grave. The tomb contained armor, weapons, jewelry and other artifacts dating back 3,500 years. Three years later, they found two additional tombs likewise containing Griffin Warrior artifacts that are helping researchers better understand ancient Greece and its people, politics, economies and society.

This week many of those artifacts are going on public display in North America for the first time as the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles this week unveils “The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior Princes of Ancient Greece.”

For Davis and Stocker, the exhibition represents the culmination of decades of scholarship and discovery. The UC researchers are responsible for some of archaeology's most astonishing revelations of the past 50 years. Their work has made international news, gracing the covers of Smithsonian and Archaeology magazines and prestigious history programs on the BBC and Smithsonian channel.

“It’s very exciting. It’s wonderful it’s finally happening,” said Stocker, a senior research associate in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences. “So much work has gone into it.”

They will give a public lecture at the Getty discussing what they and their international collaborators have learned about this ancient civilization.

“I’m thrilled that the Getty museum is featuring artifacts found by the renowned faculty from UC’s Department of Classics,” UC President Neville Pinto said. “Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker’s contributions to Greek archaeology are truly astounding. Their discovery of the Pylos Griffin Warrior — and the groundbreaking scholarship that followed — has illuminated the grandeur and sophistication of an ancient civilization.”

UC Classics has a robust tradition of combining the study of languages and history with archaeological fieldwork. The department offers students unrivaled opportunities to contribute to original research and scholarship.

In 2015, Davis and Stocker co-directed excavations in an abandoned olive grove in the vicinity of the palace. It was an alternate site they had chosen after they could not get permission for another location. But it was just a matter of days before they would realize how providential their choice would be.

“Suddenly, there was a thick layer of bronze and we knew we had something special at that point,” Davis told Smithsonian.

The tomb of the Griffin Warrior would reveal the deep connections between the Mycenaean and Minoan cultures.

Two years later while excavating a nearby site, they discovered princely tombs with more Greek Bronze Age artifacts offering a glimpse into the lives of the Mycenaean people. The two UC researchers spent the past 10 years recovering, documenting and conserving thousands of artifacts.

“The result was more than we could have imagined — discoveries that would rewrite the story of Mycenaean civilization,” Davis said.

The Getty exhibition features 230 works of art and artifacts from Messenia. These include tablets featuring the Bronze Age language Linear B, a sword hilt, pendants featuring images of the Egyptian goddess Hathor and objects depicting mythological creatures.

Arguably the exhibition’s most anticipated artwork is a one-inch sealstone that Archaeology magazine calls “a Bronze Age masterpiece.” It depicts battle between two warriors, one wielding a spear and the other a sword while a fallen warrior lies dying on the ground at their feet.

A subsequent analysis of ancient DNA confirmed the suspicions of Davis and Stocker that the Griffin Warrior was from the area he would come to rule.

“What’s exciting about the Griffin Warrior is he united several disparate functions in his personality,” Davis said. “He was a religious leader, a political leader and a military leader. And that expression of those separate identities is found in the choices of the objects that were buried with him.”

Now UC’s Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology, Davis was the longtime department head in Classics at UC. The department offers students amazing opportunities to pursue their interests in research and scholarship.

“Many Classics departments have little or no archaeology or little or no ancient history. They tend to be more like English departments focused on ancient languages,” Davis said.

Since their discoveries, Davis and Stocker have received widespread acclaim. Archaeology magazine heralded the UC Classics’ project as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in Greece in the past 50 years. The president of Greece awarded each the Commander of the Order of the Phoenix medal.

In November, the couple will give a presentation on their work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As the couple reflect on the many years of hard work and collaboration that led to the exhibition, they feel extremely fortunate.

“I’m doing something I love. I’m outside a lot. I work with beautiful objects,” Stocker said. “Our project is extremely interdisciplinary, so I work with geologists and conservators and people in materials science. It’s been a rewarding career choice for me.

“It’s been quite an adventure!” she said.

“And it’s not over yet,” Davis added.