Meet the Speaker: Samuel Holzman

Samuel Holzman is an archaeologist and architectural historian focusing on Greece and Anatolia, from the Early Iron Age through Hellenistic periods. His research is grounded in archaeological fieldwork and the technical study of ancient building methods (Bauforschung). His first book, Bilingual Ionic Column Capitals: Perceptions of the Past in Greek Architecture, which is in production with Princeton University Press, examines how Greek temple builders revisited earlier structures in their designs. It looks closely at nine buildings from Greece, Italy, and Turkey (550-250 BCE) with “bilingual” designs juxtaposing archaic and contemporary Ionic elements. These designs conjured earlier temples that were focal points for conceiving community identities.

Holzman’s recent publications have revealed engineering innovation and structural daring in ancient stone construction, as well as lifting devices used by ancient builders. Holzman’s architectural research interests include ancient aesthetic theories of architecture in the works of Vitruvius and Hermogenes, quantitative assessments of the labor and transportation logistics underlying monumental building, construction tools and structural technologies, architectural polychromy, as well as the reception of ancient architecture in the modern world. His archaeological research has also included studies of ancient musical instruments in domestic contexts and tapestry weaving. His research has been supported by grants and fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and the Kolb Society of Fellows at the Penn Museum. In 2023-2024, he is a fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington D.C.

Digital modeling is a method of particular interest for documenting, analyzing, and presenting reconstructions of fragmentary ancient buildings. In 2017 and 2019, Holzman participated in the Parthenon Restoration Project, conducting photogrammetric documentation for the west pediment, and he was the architectural consultant for Athens Reborn: Acropolis a VR teaching app.

Holzman leads the architectural research team of American Excavations Samothrace. The architectural research team is currently completing its investigation of the site’s Hellenistic stoa and beginning a study of the fortification wall of the ancient city. Princeton students interested in participating in archaeological/architectural fieldwork on Samothrace should contact Holzman about participating. Holzman is one of the co-organizers of a Getty Connecting Art Histories traveling seminar studying architectural networks between the northern Aegean and Black Sea regions. He is also a co-organizer of PITHOS (Princeton-Ioannina-Thessaly On-Site Seminars), which brings together advanced graduate students in archaeology from Princeton and Greece.