There is a small hill in a remote part of Turkey that looms large in the mind of John Haldon, a professor of history at Princeton. It likely is the ruin of an ancient fortress, but for Haldon the site is an inspiration to find new ways to unearth the history of a particular landscape.

A specialist in Byzantine history, Haldon is the director of an archaeological and historical survey project based around the modern village of Beyözü in the north-central Anatolian region of Turkey. The site, originally known as Euchaita, then Avkat in Ottoman times, is a prime example of a provincial setting in Asia Minor. By deploying innovative technologies and multidisciplinary insights, Haldon hopes his study will reveal the big picture of an area that has thus far been unexamined.

John Haldon (seated), a professor of history, consults a map of the Avkat Project in Turkey with Zachary Chitwood