Dear Friends,
Our gardens are part of the Penn Museum experience. All year, the Warden Garden and Stoner Courtyard invite us to pause and admire the fountains and koi pond, to take a lunch break in the shade, to enjoy a moment of calm and greenery. Gardens, as this issue explores, are integral not only to the Museum and Penn’s campus but also to the city of Philadelphia—and have been for centuries. Our thanks to Expedition Editor Jane Hickman, Ph.D., and guest editor Chantel White, Ph.D., for this colorful and informative special issue that makes us reconsider the green spaces in our own neighborhoods.
This issue also provides a window into the wonderful research going on in the Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Material (CAAM) by staff as well as current and former Penn students, and in our fellow Philadelphia institutions represented here. Over the last several months, despite restrictions and unexpected hurdles from COVID-19, Museum research has not slowed—it has adapted, as we all have. For instance, earlier this summer, Dr. C. Brian Rose and a small team (see page 95) were able to have a shortened but fruitful season—complete with masks—at Gordion, Turkey.
We are also continuing to move forward in the search for our next Williams Director. Previous Director Julian Siggers, Ph.D., ended his eight years at the Museum on September 3, moving to Chicago as President and CEO of the Field Museum. As “At the Museum” in this issue shows, these were eight tremendously productive years culminating in our transformed Museum, and we are grateful to Julian for his leadership and vision, as we are to Jane Hickman for her stewardship of this magazine for so many years.
While we have said a fond farewell to Jane and to Julian, we have said hello to many of you online and in person, as you’ve joined us for virtual events and in the reopened galleries. As members, you are the very foundation of our Museum, and we are grateful for your continued support.
Sincerely,
MELISSA SMITH
CO-INTERIM DIRECTOR,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
STEVE TINNEY
CO-INTERIM DIRECTOR,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
AMANDA MITCHELL-BOYASK
CO-INTERIM DIRECTOR,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT