“My stint pursuing an M.A. in the NAP (1996-1999) had a deep impact on me both personally and professionally. I had the benefit of transformative classroom experiences studying ship reconstruction with Fred Hocker, taking conservation with Donny Hamilton, and learning volumes about ships, seafaring, and trade from Shelley Wachsmann (a lifelong mentor!) and Cemal Pulak. The lessons and insights I gained from them—academic rigor, refined writing skills, polished presentations, the pursuit of dogged curiosity—extended beyond classroom topics and served me well in my later academic career. I was also grateful for the chance to spend three summers in Turkey on INA’s Bozburun and Tektaş shipwreck excavations. I made great friends and learned field methods (and camp-building skills!) from some of the best, including Fred Hocker, Faith Henschel, Sheila Mathews, Robin Piercy, and Murat Tilev. Intense times, hard play, hard work, life lessons, and lifelong friends. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.”

BIO:
Dr. Dan Davis earned his B.A. in classics from the University of Iowa, M.A. from Texas A&M’s Nautical Archaeology Program, and Ph.D. in classics from the University of Texas at Austin. As an M.A. student he took part in two INA excavations in Turkey (Bozburun and Tektaş shipwrecks, 1997-1999). As a doctoral student (2003-2009), he partnered with Dr. Robert Ballard on deep-water archaeology surveys in the Black sea and Aegean, discovering and documenting over 50 ancient and medieval shipwrecks. Since 2011 he has served as associate professor of classics and classical archaeology at Luther College where he teaches courses on ancient Mediterranean history, archaeology, and Greek and Latin language. In addition to leading January-term courses in Italy, Greece, and Turkey, he co-directs archaeological excavations at Caesarea in Israel and Kenchreai in Greece. His research interests include Greek, Roman, and Byzantine seafaring, trade, navigation, and maritime culture. Since 2019 he has also served as lead archaeologist for the University of Delaware/Project Recover on multiple World War II MIA surveys in Denmark, Croatia, Palau, Chuuk (Truk Lagoon), and the Marshall Islands. A former U.S. Navy diver, Dan helps his wife Donna run a rural cat sanctuary in Waukon, Iowa.