Summer 2025 marked a major milestone for classical archaeology at the University of Notre Dame as Associate Professor Alessandro Pierattini assumed leadership as the director of excavations at Isthmia, one of the four great Panhellenic sanctuaries of ancient Greece. With this appointment, the project officially became the University of Notre Dame Excavations at Isthmia with support from the Notre Dame Research team.
“This represents an important milestone,” said Pierattini. “Notre Dame now leads one of the most historically significant archaeological sites in Greece, joining a select group of American universities entrusted with directing major excavations in the country. This enhances the University’s reputation for excellence in teaching, research, and global engagement.”
Archaeological investigations have been ongoing since 1952, and our new stewardship places Notre Dame at the center of an internationally recognized, legacy project in classical archaeology, Pierattini said.
Isthmia was home to the sanctuary of Poseidon, where the Isthmian Games, second only to the Olympic Games, were celebrated. The site also played a pivotal political role, in BC 336, when Alexander the Great secured his leadership of the Greek alliance for the campaign against Persia.
For Pierattini, the work at Isthmia connects directly with his broader research into how Greek temples evolved. His 2022 book, The Origins of Greek Temple Architecture, published by Cambridge University Press, reconstructs how Greek temples developed between the end of the Bronze Age and the early Archaic period, roughly from the eleventh to the mid-seventh century BCE.
Speaking from his office in Walsh Family Hall of Architecture, Pierattini describes the motivation behind the book. “Most histories of Greek architecture began with the temple already formed, or addressed its formative period only briefly, leaving the narrative inadequately integrated with the expanding body of archaeological evidence for this critical phase of Greek history” he said.
“I wanted to understand how the Greek temple became the monument we all admire. In other words, there was a missing chapter in the history of classical architecture — the prequel.”
Rather than searching for a single “origin” of the temple, the book traces a long process of transformation. Pierattini analyzes early Greek temples in terms of their function, design, materials, construction, and appearance, showing how these aspects changed over time and from place to place. Building on earlier scholarship, especially the work of J. J. Coulton, including the famous study of the Toumba Building at Lefkandi, he proposes a broader and more integrated picture. His contribution lies not in isolating one prototype, but in explaining how and why temples gradually became monumental through a series of local experiments and innovations.
One of the book’s key points is that early Greek temples were not simply “primitive” versions of later ones. They were fully meaningful buildings in their own cultural contexts, even when made of wood, mudbrick, and thatch. Over time, however, social, political, and economic changes reshaped Greek communities. Growing populations, expanding networks of exchange, and new forms of competition and display all played a role in encouraging more ambitious building projects.
“People gained social prestige in proportion to what they dedicated to the gods,” Pierattini explains. “This competition in giving led to greater investment in religious buildings.”
Materials played a decisive role in changing how temples looked and worked. In the early phases, roofs were typically thatched and steeply pitched. When terracotta roof tiles were introduced in the seventh century BCE, everything changed.
“The shift from thatch to tile didn’t just make buildings more durable,” Pierattini notes. “It fundamentally altered their appearance and their architectural logic.”
Together, these efforts highlight both the enduring cultural importance of ancient architecture and, for the Notre Dame School of Architecture, this research also speaks directly to the study of the classical tradition, not as something that appeared fully formed, but as the result of centuries of experimentation, adaptation, and creative problem-solving.
“Our first campaign under the University’s name was highly successful, supported by a grant from the Replogle Foundation and with generous support from the ND Office of Research. We advanced research on the Archaic Temple of Poseidon, documented significant new evidence, and provided transformative field experience for Notre Dame undergraduates, who participated as research interns in Greece. This combination of hands-on learning, cultural immersion, and groundbreaking scholarship reflects the University’s mission to integrate teaching and research at the highest level,” he said.
Looking ahead, Pierattini’s scholarship continues to expand. Upcoming publications include:
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A new monograph on the Archaic Temple of Poseidon at Isthmia, one of the earliest Greek stone temples.
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A new architectural study of the Toumba Building at Lefkandi (10th century BCE), a key monument for understanding early Greek architecture.
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A collaborative architectural study of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill in Rome.
Co-authors:
Charles Ghati, MSHP ’25, and Lisa Bukhala ’25