Groton Teacher Awarded Top Archaeological Honor

Groton School congratulates longtime teacher and archaeologist Hugh Sackett for receiving the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)’s highest honor—the Gold Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement.

 

Mr. Sackett, who has taught at Groton since 1955, received the award on January 3, during the AIA’s annual meeting, held in Chicago. The annual award recognizes a scholar who has made distinguished contributions to archaeology through fieldwork, publications, and/or teaching.

 

Mr. Sackett has excavated throughout Greece and Crete, including Mycenae and Sparta. He is particularly known for his work at Lefkandi and Palaikastro and has published landmark articles and monographs for both of these sites, according to the AIA. He currently teaches archaeology at Groton and, over the years, also has taught Latin and Greek.

 

Two of Mr. Sackett’s former Groton students presented papers at a colloquium that the AIA held in his honor. Seán Hemingway ’85, curator of the Department of Greek and Roman Art at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, presented “Sacred Offerings: Early Greek Bronzes from the Sanctuary to Diktaian Zeus at Palaikastro.” In addition, Stuart Thorne ’67, an independent scholar, presented "UM Redux: North of the Little Palace from the Early Iron Age to the Fall of Rome.” (UM stands for Unexplored Mansion.)