Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece

The Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece (ESAG) (French: École Suisse d'Archéologie en Grèce; German: Schweizer Archäologische Schule in Griechenland; Italian: Scuola Elvetica d'Archeologia in Grecia; Greek: Ελβετική Αρχαιολογική Σχολή στην Ελλάδα) is one of the foreign archaeological institutes operating in Greece. Since 1964, the Swiss archaeologists have been excavating the remains of the ancient site of Eretria (Euboea), a medium-sized city which has extensively contributed to the development and the influence of the Greek civilisation. Hosted in Switzerland by the University of Lausanne, the Swiss School has its head office in Athens, in an Art Nouveau building at Odos Skaramanga 4B. The school has also offices in a 19th-century neoclassical house in Eretria, Odos Apostoli 15.

Swiss archaeologists started to work in Euboea in April 1964, but the Greek Archaeological Council had already accepted the principle of Swiss participation in the excavation and study of the ruins of Eretria in 1962. Vasilis Petrakos, who was then the epimelete in charge of Eretria, had drawn the attention of the Greek archaeological authorities to the threat to Eretria's ancient remains posed by the development of the small modern town. In fact, no other foreign archaeological team had been involved in studying the site since 1895, when the American School of Classical Studies at Athens completed its work. In 1975, after the end of the rule of the military junta (1967–1974), the Swiss Mission requested and received the title, habitual in Greece, of "School of Archaeology". The activities of the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece in Eretria are multiple: they include the exploration of the city's past by the excavation of its ruins, the study of the material discovered, the publication of research, the preservation of archaeological remains in the field and in the Museum, and their development and presentation to the public.

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