The Venetian records from 1700 record 5 churches in Aigio, but only 3 of them are still extant today. A look at what happened and changes to the town through time using census and other records, traveler accounts, and maps.A companion p...

In this episode, we explore differences in the landscape, specifically around locations in the three datasets (1463, 1700, and 1907) by comparing them with each other and with a dataset of 50 random points. The analyses show trends in the lands...

In this episode the landscape of Vostitsa is described using GIS analyses.See the accompanying maps and images on the companion page for this episode on the Helonaki website.

In this episode the spatial data associated with the 3 time periods under study (1463, 1700, and 1910) are discussed.

An Ottoman defter from 1463, cadastral records from the middle of the 2nd Venetian Period in 1700, and population and agricultural census records from the early 20th century. In this episode, what these data contain is explored since they are t...

An update for when new episodes will be coming out on Vostitsa (October) and info about a blog series called Dispatches from Vostitsa from Jen's June visit. Get access by becoming a supporter of the He...

The Greek state evolved from an absolute monarchy to democracy, but not without more than a few bumps in the road.

The Greek Revolution began in 1821 with a series of scattered uprisings and effectively ended with a naval battle. Then came the effort of creating the Greek state...

The century between the end of the Venetian Period in the Morea and the beginning of the Greek Revolution was a time of unrest and change in the Ottoman Empire and across Europe.

The Venetians kept losing territory to the Ottomans, until they joined a Holy League and took the Morea. They also blew up the Parthenon, but nobody's perfect.Show Notes: available at

The Ottoman Empire started as one of many Turkish tribes in Western Anatolia in the 1200s, but eventually conquered a vast region, including the Byzantine Empire and the Morea. Here we discuss their history and how they took control of the More...

Frankish Crusaders had conquered most of the Peloponnese (Morea) by 1212. They had almost 50 years before the reformed Byzantine Empire regained a foothold in the Morea.

The 4th Crusade in 1204 dramatically changed the Byzantine Empire - including the Peloponnese and Vostitsa. To understand what happened in 1204, we look at some new characters in this story - the Venetians, Normans, and Franks - and the events ...

A quick summary of Roman and Byzantine Vostitsa with some of the ups and downs ending with the state of the Peloponnese and Vostitsa c. 1000 CE.

Welcome to the second season of The Helonaki Deep Dive! In this episode, Jen explains why Vostitsa, Greece is the topic for this season and describes the physical landscape of Vostitsa.

Preview for the upcoming, 2nd season of The Helonaki Deep Dive on Vostitsa, Greece.

The 1868 map of the Shackelfords' route, the end of their epic journeys across the United States in the 1860s and of season 1 of The Helonaki Deep Dive.But do not fear, there will be more Shackelford info and mapping available at

The Shackelfords' 1865 route deviated from the canonical Oregon/California trail routes. Those deviations and the data used for Version1.0 of the 1865 route are discussed in this episode.The next episode ends this season of The Helona...

Abraham Kirkland and his family became close friends with the Shackelfords on the 1865 trip from Missouri to California. In this episode, Jen discusses that relationship, the Kirklands penchant for naming children after relatives and blacksmith...

A third family set out with the Shackelfords and Gatewoods from Clark County, Missouri on May 1, 1865. The family of Mr. Rhyne and his daughters. In this episode, a look at the Rhyne family from Ruth's diary and other sources, and the questions...

Atwell B. Gatewood was born in Stafford County, Virginia and moved when young to Missouri. In this episode, his family is explored and then the three families of the adults of the Shackelford-Gatewood familes on the 1865 journey (Galloway, Shac...

Ruth's husband, William Franklin Shackelford, who she called Frank, was born in Culpeper Co. Virginia, but came to maturity in Missouri. In trying to understand the Shackelfords' 1865 and 1868 travels, we look at Frank and his family.**...

In 1855, William Franklin Shackelford's uncle Caleb and aunt Frances filed a bill of complaint against another aunt, Sarah, and a man named Benjamin Matthews over land that had been left to William's great-aunts Nancy, Polly, and Caty in 1810. ...

Ruth Galloway Shackelford was born and raised in Boone County, Missouri, in a family that had emigrated from Kentucky. Ruth's family and upraising formed her character, which is evident in her diaries. She was not alone in being reluctant to up...

Back from an excavation vacation, Jen discusses deep mapping as a framework for studying the Shackelfords' journeys in 1865 and 1868. Included is a discussion of geography, spaces vs. places, and how Jen intends to create a Shackelford deep map...