When Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece opened at the Getty Villa Museum last summer, visitors encountered one of the most extraordinary archaeological stories of the last half century: the discovery of the Griffin Warrior grave and the renewed understanding it has sparked of the Bronze Age Aegean. But for UC Berkeley students and alumni, the exhibition represents something more personal. Many contributed directly to the research, excavation, cataloguing, and curatorial work behind the exhibition, and got to visit the Getty Villa with Professor Kim Shelton to experience firsthand the results of this global project.
A Historic Discovery, A New Understanding of the Mycenaeans
The exhibition, on view June 27, 2025–January 12, 2026, is the first major North American show devoted to Mycenaean civilization (1700–1070 BCE). Its foundations lie in the remarkable discoveries made near the Palace of Nestor by archaeologists Sharon R. Stocker and Jack L. Davis of the University of Cincinnati. Their 2015 uncovering of the unplundered grave of the Griffin Warrior astonished the archaeological world, revealing thousands of artifacts—including weapons, sealstones, jewelry, and the now-iconic Pylos Combat Agate, one of the finest works of prehistoric Aegean art ever found.
The discoveries reshaped scholarly understanding of early Mycenaean identity, elite power, and long-distance networks that connected the Greek mainland, Minoan Crete, Egypt, and the Near East. The discoveries themselves are the result of sustained excavation and research by the University of Cincinnati team working in close collaboration with Greek colleagues.
For Berkeley students and alumni, the project offered a rare opportunity to participate in both phases of this work, from archaeological field seasons in Greece to the scholarly and curatorial efforts that brought these discoveries into public view at the Getty Villa.
Berkeley Students and Alumni: From Excavation to Exhibition
Over the last decade, multiple Berkeley students have participated in the excavations at Pylos and in the material studies that followed. Their contributions—ranging from fieldwork to conservation assistance to curatorial interpretation—now appear throughout the exhibition.
Among them:
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Hana Sugioka (1st-year Classical Archaeology) interned at the Getty, working directly on the development of the exhibition.
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David Wheeler (PhD ’23, AHMA) excavated part of the material now on display during field seasons in Greece.
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Nicole Budrovich (BA ’11, Classical Civilizations) served as curatorial assistant for the exhibition at the Getty Villa, helping organize galleries and interpret research for public audiences.
These experiences reflect Berkeley’s distinctive approach to archaeological training—one rooted in research-intensive fieldwork, interdisciplinary study, and hands-on learning with world-leading scholars and institutions.
Experiencing the Bronze Age Firsthand: A Berkeley Graduate Student Visit
In October 2025, Professor Kim Shelton, Director of the Archaeological Research Facility and the Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology, led a group of Berkeley graduate students in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies and in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology on a study trip to the Getty Villa. Supported by generous donor funding, the visit allowed students to connect their academic work directly to the artifacts and research shaping the field today.
The group received a private tour from Claire Lyons, head curator of antiquities, and Berkeley alum Nicole Budrovich, who helped bring the exhibition to life. For several students, the tour was also a reunion with the archaeological materials they had studied—or even helped uncover.
For Berkeley’s emerging archaeologists, the exhibition was more than a display of artifacts—it was a chance to understand Bronze Age Pylos through the intertwined lenses of scholarship, excavation, curation, and lived experience.
The exhibition travels next to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (March–June 2026), returning these extraordinary artifacts to Greece.