APAC Labs attends the first Anchise Demonstration event

Researchers Dr. Valentina Vassallo and Dr. Avgoustinos Avgousti traveled to Thessaloniki, Greece to participate in the first technical demonstration of the ANCHISE Project. The two-day event took place across Thessaloniki and Amphipolis and saw 100 participants from 10 different European countries attend.

ANCHISE aims to develop 6 state of the art tools that will be used in the fight against illicit trafficking of antiquities. These tools will increase the surveillance of archaeological property that is vulnerable to looting and improve the identification of ancient artefacts while assisting law enforcement with trafficking networks and creating a repository of stolen goods. The demonstration was the first of three to be held to deliver hands-on training sessions on the use of the different tools presented.

During the first day’s event at the Museum of Byzantine Culture of Thessaloniki, Dr. Vassallo presented APAC Labs' contribution to project ANCHISE by detailing one of the six tools, named GUARDIAN-CH. This database will be used for data organization and exploitation of items subject to illicit traffic. During the second day of events, the team traveled to the archaeological site of Amphipolis, where they provided further presentations about the tool and engaged in a Q&A session with attendees. Overall, the events added a high level of value to how the tools will be refined and it was vital to engage in professional exchanges with law enforcement agencies, museum professionals and archaeologists who are at the forefront of fighting illicit trafficking of antiquities.