The collection comprises photographic archives bequeathed to the Department of Archaeology of the University of Thessaloniki by eminent scholars. Before digitization, this documentation consisted of photographic prints, slides and negatives, in both b/w and color. The biggest part of it belonged to Stylianos Pelekanidis and it was gathered during his active occupation in Greece as a Byzantinist, a member of the Greek Archaeological Service and, later, a professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The material related to Elli Pelekanidou is also relevant to her activity with the Archaeological service as a Byzantine archaeologist in Thessaloniki. The photographic archive of Stylianos Pelekanidis is the result of his scientific research in places which were under his responsibility in Greece. At Philippi it comprises of the excavation of the Octagonal church complex as well as material from the Christian necropolis; in Kastoria it refers to the documentation of the architecture and painting decoration, as well as to wooden furniture and minor objects of the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine churches of that city; at the area of the Prespes Lakes it includes the documentation of the ruins of St. Achillios basilica and the painting decoration of the monastic hermitages along the shore of the greater lake. Another part of the archive includes photographic documentation of Pelekanidis’ restoration projects in Serres, at the Rotonda and at the Byzantine churches of Prophetes Elias and Agia Aikaterini in Thessaloniki, as well as documentation from his several trips to the monasteries of Mount Athos. The latter part contains photographs and slides of the architecture of the monasteries as well as of their painted decoration, icons and minor objects. A part of the archive consists of material dating before 1953 and it is probably connected with Andreas Xyngopoulos, who was professor of Byzantine Archaeology at the Aristotle University in the early postwar years, and includes old postcards, prints and slides related to Byzantine monuments of Southern Greece. Another part of the photographic archive is related to Pelkanidis’ career as a professor at the Aristotle University. It consists of photographs and slides from the study trips with students to the Byzantine monuments of Greece, Cyprus and the Byzantine monuments of former Yugoslavia. Together with this material, the archive contains a number of prints produced during the research projects of professor Pelekanidis and his associates to the chair of Byzantine Archaeology. Finally, the part of the archive related to Elli Pelekanidou consists of slides from the salvage excavations that she oversaw in lots of the city of Thessaloniki.
History
Personal archives of photographs bequeathed to the Department of Archaeology of the University of Thessaloniki by eminent scholars from Thessaloniki during the 20th c.
